BAPW calls for limit to UK wholesale licenses

The British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers has called for the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to restrict the number of drug wholesaling licenses. The group is supported by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the pharmacy-representative group, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. One concern is the number of firms engaged in parallel trade, with a growing export market caused by a weak currency and government-imposed price cuts on medicines (Marketletter November 24). The Financial Times reports at least one recent case of pharmacy shortages in the UK caused by re-exporting drugs.