Key Summary
- Pharmacies said there had been panic buying of the drug after the price hike announcement this month
- Eli Lilly has reportedly told its British wholesalers to temporarily stop taking orders after demand soared
- The company claims there are legal protections in place to prevent inappropriate stockpiling of medicines by providers
Eli Lilly has temporarily paused shipments of its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in the UK, ahead of a new price hike for the treatment set to come into effect starting next month.
Lilly said that, in order to manage its supply and ensure that patients maintain access, it has allocations in place for pharmacies and providers that order medicines from the company.
There are legal protections in place to prevent inappropriate stockpiling of medicines by providers, the company said on Wednesday. It will resume orders on September 1.
The drugmaker is set to increase the UK list price of the drug by up to 170 percent in September amid a White House push to get drugmakers to raise medicine prices in Europe to allow for price cuts in the United States.
The price for a month's supply of the highest dose of the medicine will increase from £122 to £330.
Eli Lilly has reportedly told its British wholesalers to temporarily stop taking orders after demand soared before the scheduled price increase.
Pharmacies said there had been panic buying of the drug after the price announcement this month.
The price hike came amid a White House push to get drugmakers to raise medicine prices in Europe to allow for price cuts in the United States.
Mounjaro became available on the NHS at the end of June, and Eli Lilly says the higher price will not affect those who get it through the health service.
However, many people in the UK buy the drug privately and pay for it.
People using Mounjaro have been warned against switching to sellers on the hidden economy or bulk buying.
