Zug, Switzerland & Egham, UK – 04 July 2023 – Essential Pharma, an international speciality pharma company focused on ensuring that patients have sustainable access to low-volume, clinically well-established pharmaceutical products across key therapeutic areas, has applied for and been granted an increase in the Drug Tariff price across the Company’s Priadel products by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) through its Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS). The VPAS was introduced in 2019 to keep the branded medicine bill affordable for the NHS.

Priadel is an essential medicine used for the treatment of mania and hypomania, recurrent bipolar depression, and prophylactic treatment of recurrent affective disorders. The active pharmaceutical ingredient in this medication is lithium carbonate.

The UK Drug Tariff prices for Priadel 200mg & 400mg tablets were previously set in 2020. Since that date, there have been large increases in the cost of goods driven by substantially higher raw material prices and exacerbated by inflation and higher energy prices. Lithium carbonate prices have seen an increase of over 600% since December 2020. There are many factors driving these increased lithium prices, including the increase in demand from the use of lithium batteries for electric vehicles. These increases in costs had resulted in the position that, on a fully loaded costs basis, the products had become loss-making and potentially unsustainable. The impact on contract manufacturers has been particularly marked.

Essential Pharma takes any decision to increase the prices of its portfolio products very seriously, and has been working closely with the DHSC to agree a price that is sustainable for all stakeholders and we welcome the decision of the DHSC to grant these new prices which will help ensure a continued sustainable supply for the benefit of UK patients.

Emma Johnson, CEO of Essential Pharma, commented: “Essential Pharma specialises in ensuring the sustainable supply of low volume, difficult to manufacture yet clinically well-established pharmaceutical products, such as Priadel, to patients. This drives everything we do. We welcome the decision of the DHSC to grant these new prices.”