Court backs NHS in hepatitis C procurement row with AbbVie

A court has backed NHS England in a case where US pharma giant AbbVie had alleged that its procurement process for hepatitis C drugs was unfair. NHS England aims to eliminate hepatitis C by 2025 using the ‘largest ever’ drug procurement process, inviting pharma companies to take part in the initiative worth almost a billion pounds over five years. But AbbVie had claimed the NHS breached its duty to treat all bidders fairly and started court proceedings last year. NHS England said the country’s High Court has dismissed all aspects of the case, claiming that the initiative had been delayed by six months because of the litigation.
In the ruling, the judge rejected all challenges brought by AbbVie against NHS England’s smart procurement for the supply of curative direct-acting antiviral treatments. The drugs are intended to support a national network of hepatitis C projects that NHS England hopes will eradicate the disease. Pharmaphorum understands that contracts have not yet been awarded, and no further details have been announced about which companies are involved. But only a handful of firms have direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C drugs approved – meaning that as well as AbbVie, pharma companies such as Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck & Co are likely to be involved in the process.