Drugs Giant Pfizer's Plans Threat To Community Pharmacies Says Stevenson

Banff & Buchan SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has branded plans by international drugs corporation Pfizer to restrict the supply of their medicines to only one supplier in Scotland as a threat to rural community pharmacies.

Mr Stevenson launched his attack on Pfizer after being contacted by worried pharmacists in his constituency who say that the plans will put at risk the security of supply of patient medicines in the North of Scotland and force them to deal with a wholesale firm which has no distribution depots north of Livingston.

Speaking during a visit to a community pharmacy in New Deer today, Mr Stevenson said:

“Pfizer may be one of the biggest pharmaceutical corporations in the world but it is clear in this case that they have either not understood the situation in the North of Scotland or have deliberately ignored the difficulties they will create for community pharmacies here.

“What we have here is an example of a global corporation riding roughshod over the needs of its customers and dictating not only the terms and conditions of how how community pharmacies should run their business but also who they should give their business to.

“This is unacceptable to me and unacceptable to community pharmacies in my constituency, many of whom have contacted me and are absolutely up in arms at these proposals.

“I am calling on the Health Minister and the Competition Commission to investigate Pfizer’s proposals because not only are they anti-competition, they also have the potential to cost the NHS more money in the longer term.”