Aspen Pharma in midst of cancer drug price-gouging row

One of the world's leading drug companies, Aspen Pharmacare, ''plotted to destroy supplies of life-saving cancer medicines'' over a battle to drive up prices in Europe, it has been claimed.

The South African firm is understood to have proposed the wastage during a row with the Spanish health service in 2014, while it is also said to have threatened to stop supplying medicine to Italian authorities a year earlier.

The price drive began after the firm, whose European headquarters is in Dublin, bought the rights to five cancer medicines from Britain's GlaxoSmithKline.

According to London's The Times, the company wanted to impose rises of up to 4,000 per cent after purchasing the ''portfolio'' of drugs from GSK for more than £270 million in 2009.

The paper reported that in 2013 the cost of leukaemia drug busulfan rose from £5.20 to £65.22 in England and Wales, a 1,100 per cent jump, while blood cancer medicine chlorambucil went from £8.36 per pack to £40.51.

It is understood Aspen was able to impose the price rises by taking advantage of a loophole that allows increases if a brand name is dropped.

An investigation by The Times claims a ''cache of documents'' revealed Aspen ''threatened to stop supplying drugs'' to Italy in 2013 if authorities did not agree to price rises, and a year later ''threatened to destroy stocks'' should Spanish health bosses not do the same.

It is understood Italian authorities subsequently agreed to the rises following a period of medicine shortages that were ''allegedly orchestrated to increase pressure''.

Dennis Dencher, chief executive of Aspen Pharma Europe, told The Times price rises were at ''appropriate levels'' to ''promote long-term sustainable supply'' and added the previous prices were ''unsustainable''.

The firm also denied any shortages of medicine were deliberate but did not address questions on the destruction of drugs from the paper.

The price increases in the UK were not approved by the Department of Health because they were ''unbranded'', with prices for such products usually controlled by competition in the market.

A Department of Health spokesperson said, ''No pharmaceutical company should exploit the NHS.

''We are working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority on unwarranted price rises of unbranded generic medicines, and where companies have breached competition law, we will seek damages and invest that money in the NHS.

''We are also bringing in new laws this year so we can take action against excessive price rises on unbranded generic medicines.''