Cancer drug probe highlights ethics

We cannot but be appalled at the very thought that cancer patients, already under the psychological strain of being diagnosed with the disease, are being overcharged for the very drugs which make their troubled existence bearable – and in some instances keep them alive.

The Competition Commission has launched probes into allegations of excessive pricing against major pharmaceutical companies Roche, Pfizer and Aspen on a range of cancer drugs in this country. Aspen is already under investigation by European authorities over the company’s pricing policy and under the microscope by the European Commission for steep rises in the price of five drugs the company purchased from GlaxoSmithKline several years ago.

“Given that Aspen supplies similar products in SA, the commission has reasonable grounds to suspect Aspen may be engaging in similar conduct locally,” said commissioner Thembinkosi Bonakele.

The commission’s probes raise serious finger-pointing in a health sector already perceived to be pricing itself out of the reach of the average patient in private health insurance, and accused of milking the captive market.

It could also raise some thorny ethical questions over the balance between the bottom line and shareholder dividends and easing the pain of a reduced quality of life for cancer sufferers.