The Competition Commission has published the results of its inquiry into the sale of prescription-only medicines (POMs) by veterinary surgeons: (A report on the supply within the United Kingdom of prescription-only veterinary medicines Volumes 1 & 2.)

Most POMs are supplied by manufacturers to veterinary surgeries via veterinary wholesalers, and sold by veterinary surgeons to animal owners, the Competition Commission focused on this chain of supply, and on the ability of pharmacies to compete with veterinary surgeons at the retail level.

The Commission found one scale, and three complex, monopoly situations within the meaning of the Fair Trading Act 1973. Amongst the many practices and consequences of these monopolies the Commission noted that vets might;

(a) fail to inform animal owners that they can ask for prescriptions, or discouraging requests for prescriptions, or declining to provide prescriptions on request;

(b) fail to inform clients of the price of POMs prior to dispensing them, or to provide itemized bills;

(c) price POMs in a way that does not reflect their cost of supply, including:

(d) place mark-ups on manufacturers' list prices that take no account of the discounts and rebates they receive from wholesalers and manufacturers, or do not reflect variations in those discounts and rebates;

(e) price POMs to subsidize, to a greater or lesser extent, professional fees

The Commission observed that;

(a) Most best-selling POMs in the UK are substantially more expensive, ex-manufacturer, than in all the European countries in our study.

(b) The difference in price between the UK and other European countries is greater for POMs, ex manufacturer, than for other veterinary medicines, and countries where pharmacies play a larger role in their supply have the lowest ex-manufacturer prices.

(c) Retail prices for POMs (excluding VAT) are never lower and are generally substantially higher in Great Britain.

(d) For those POMs for which it was possible to make a comparison of retail prices after adjusting for differences in ex-manufacturer prices, prices in Great Britain are still higher in the majority of cases.

The Commission has made 11 recommendations, which are aimed at removing these monopoly practices and introducing more competition into the prescription-only medicines market. The full list of recommendations can be found here.

The Commission concludes by saying that none of the recommendations or remedies will affect veterinary surgeons' exclusive right to prescribe POMs for animals or herds under their care. But they are all designed to encourage and increase competition in the supply of POMs. The eventual success of the measures designed to increase competition between veterinary surgeons, and between them and pharmacies, will depend on animal owners and veterinary surgeons responding to the new opportunities the Commission wants to create, and on the readiness of pharmacies to enter the market.