Pharmaceutical manufacturer Adcock Ingram Critical Care is facing allegations of anti-competitive conduct over the pricing of its kidney failure treatment products.

The Competition Commission has referred the case to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.

The commission says that between July 2019 and June 2024, Adcock Ingram engaged in excessive pricing for products used in dialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy.

South Africa faces a growing demand for dialysis driven by high rates of diabetes, hypertension, and HIV.

Competition Commission Spokesperson, Siyabulela Makunga, says the inflated prices directly hurt the broader healthcare system.

“Expensive renal replacement therapies can limit access to treatment and place financial pressure on government, renal facilities, medical schemes, and patients. The commission investigated the matter following a complaint filed with it and found that AICC is dominant in the market for renal replacement therapy products in South Africa. It found that AICC’s prices for peritoneal dialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy products during the relevant period were excessive, as they significantly exceeded the economic costs attributable to those products.”

Source link