TWO pharmacy owners in New Zealand have had formal civil proceedings lodged against them by the NZ Commerce Commission for alleged price-fixing.
The Commission has accused Prices Pharmacy 2011 Limited and its directors, Stuart Hebberd and Jason Wright, of facilitating a price-fixing agreement with competing pharmacies in the town of Nelson.
In most cases the agreement resulted in the dispensing charge consumers paid for fully funded prescription items increasing from NZ$5 to NZ$6 in May 2016.
The Commission has alleged the conduct arose from a Nelson region pharmacy owners meeting in Apr 2016 which was attended by ten pharmacy proprietors.
The conduct ceased in Jun 2016 when the pharmacies received additional taxpayer funding from the local District Health Board.
Warning letters have been issued to nine other pharmacy owners in the region, but the Commission has exercised its discretion to issue a warning rather than commence proceedings in those cases.
However in the case of Prices Pharmacy 2011 and its directors, the Commission is seeking a declaration that they contravened the New Zealand Commerce Act.
The agency is also seeking financial penalties and costs against the pharmacy owners.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 30 Apr 18
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