§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Minister for Trade (1) whether, in view of the fact that Hoechst markets its drug Daonil at £9.64 in the United Kingdom but £4.37 in other countries, he will refer the matter to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission;
(2) whether, in view of the fact that Pfizer markets its drug Diabinese at £6.68 in the United Kingdom but £3.12 when sold abroad, he will refer the matter to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission;
(3) whether, in view of the fact that Bayer PLC markets the drug Adalat at £12.16 in the United Kingdom but £5.21 when sold abroad, he will refer the matter to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
§ Dr. VaughanDrug companies' costs and profits for NHS-prescribed drugs are subject to control by the230W Department of Health and Social Security under the pharmaceutical price regulations scheme. It would also be open to the Director General of Fair Trading, if he considered that prices for particular drugs reflected an anticompetitive practice or abuse of a monopoly position, to use his powers under the competition legislation to investigate or refer the matter to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The hon. Member's questions appear, however, to raise issues of competition going beyond the United Kingdom market. Within the European Community, action has already been taken under the competition rules against a number of pharmaceutical companies for restricting trade among member states in order to maintain price differentials.