Contractors have reported that other wholesalers are “stockpiling” medicines to drive up the price, as shortages mean stocks are “nowhere near enough to meet demand”, Rajiv Shah, director at pharmacy wholesalers Sigma Pharmaceuticals, told C+D at the Avicenna conference in Vietnam last month (October 24).

“What we’ve found from our customers’ feedback about others suppliers is that stock is being stockpiled at the wholesaler’s end,” Mr Shah told C+D. “Then miraculously when concessionary prices get announced…wholesalers [begin] telling them: ‘Stock’s available now’.”

Mr Shah warned against turning to price comparison websites to source “scarce” medicines, and urged contractors to only use suppliers and wholesalers “they trust and [who] are transparent”.

Watch the full interview below: