English health service could recover £500m in drug costs from Pfizer

By Katrina Krämer2018-03-02T11:59:00

A closeup of a sample pack of Lyrica. Lyrica is commonly used to treat nerve pain including neuropathy from chemotherapy.

Source: © Margaret M Stewart / Shiutterstock

NHS England may have paid over the odds for pain drug whose patent has now been revoked

England’s National Health Service (NHS) might be able to reclaim £502 million in drug costs from Pfizer if the pharma giant loses its patent on the pain medication pregabalin. Prescriptions of Pfizer’s branded version of the drug – Lyrica – increased by 25% after doctors were told to use it instead of a cheaper generic, despite the pharma firm being involved in a legal battle over the drug’s patent status.