Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly yesterday (August 27) confirmed to C+D that it has put in place a month-end cut-off for orders of the drug.
It said that this is so that it can fulfil orders that have been placed and that it will resume orders on September 1, when new higher list prices come into force in the UK.
It comes as numerous online pharmacies are already facing Mounjaro stock shortages – with some reserving availability for “existing patients” while others appear to be “out of stock” entirely.
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“Lilly has allocations in place for pharmacies and providers that order stock from us to manage our supply and ensure patients maintain access,” a spokesperson told C+D.
They added that “there are legal protections in place, enforced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to prevent inappropriate stockpiling of medicines by providers”.
Lilly also said that it encourages patients to “only order based on their current treatment plan to reduce the risk of localised disruption”.
“Unprecedented demand”
It follows reports that Lilly has told its two British wholesalers – Phoenix and AAH – to stop taking Mounjaro orders from pharmacies as of the end of yesterday.
A letter from Phoenix to pharmacies seen by LBC said that due to “unprecedented demand” since the price hike was announced, Lilly has “requested that [it] implement an order freeze on Mounjaro products for all customers from the end of the day [on] August 27”.
Read more: Online pharmacies see Mounjaro stock shortages amid price hike
It added that orders received after the “usual cut-off time on August 27 will not be processed” but that “normal ordering processing for these products will recommence on Monday September 1”.
“Orders processed after this date will be invoiced at the new list prices,” the letter said.
Phoenix declined to comment, while AAH did not respond to a request for comment.
“Utterly wrong”
The move has caused uproar, with the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) warning that it is “throwing the system into chaos”.
IPA chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said that it is “utterly wrong that patients are being made to suffer as a result of Lilly’s pursuit of profit”.
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“It is completely unacceptable that Lilly has not only decided to cause significant instability by increasing prices with minimal notice but is now making matters worse by suspending supply until those higher prices take effect in September,” she added.
Hannbeck stressed that pharmacies “are already working at full capacity…under immense pressure dealing with the disruption caused by these sudden price hikes” and have now been “left to manage the fallout” with “extremely concerned” patients.
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Some pharmacies have even been “extending opening hours to provide anxious patients the support they need”, she said.
The IPA urged Lilly to “reverse this disastrous decision” and “do the right thing”.
C+D approached Lilly for comment.
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It comes as the government has agreed “redetermined” NHS reimbursement prices for Mounjaro to reflect the higher list prices due to begin next week, after the negotiator last week said it was “urgently seeking assurances” around reimbursement for dispensing the drug.
And following distress in the sector about the price hike’s impact on both pharmacies and patients, private services provider Pharmadoctor last week told C+D that its “partner pharmacies” will be able to charge patients “much less” as part of a Mounjaro rebate scheme.
Lilly announced earlier this month that it will hike the price of Mounjaro in the UK by up to 170% from September 1 to align it with the cost in other countries.
