Staff at one of the world’s leading drug companies discussed destroying supplies of life-saving cancer medicines in a battle to impose massive price rises across Europe, The Times can reveal. The proposal was raised at Aspen Pharmacare during a dispute with the Spanish health service in 2014 over attempts to increase the price of the medicines by up to 4,000 per cent. The company, which runs its European operations from Dublin, began a continent-wide effort to drive up the price of five cancer medicines after buying the rights from the British company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The price rises meant that the cost of busulfan, used by leukaemia patients, rose from £5.20 to £65.22 a pack in England and Wales during 2013, an increase of more than
Aspen Pharmacare considered destroying cancer medicines in order to raise prices in Europe by up to 4,000 euros , according to allegations made by the Times . The proposal was made in 2014 when the company was in dispute with the Spanish health service . Aspen , which has its European base in Dublin , raised the prices of some of its cancer drugs after purchasing the rights to the Cosmos drug portfolio from GlaxoSmithKline in 2009 . Although the cancer drugs were out of patent , they had no competition . apple was also able to introduce a loophole that enables companies to raise prices once brand names are dropped .