DHSC’s April 2024 Price Concessions – 1st Update
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has today (26/04/2024) confirmed the following initial list of price concessions for April 2024.
This announcement comes late in the month and follows the decision by DHSC, under the direction of Ministers, to impose changes to concessions pricing from April to try to manage purchase margins. DHSC has applied its new margin reduction formula as a final step, delaying the announcement through the addition of another layer of complexity to the concessions process.
Community Pharmacy England has strongly opposed this, and is continuing to warn Government and the NHS that putting further pressure on pharmacies to dispense at a loss will have very serious consequences for the sector, patients and the wider primary care system.
All pharmacy owners are encouraged to contact their MPs about the ongoing intolerable pressures on the sector using our guidance for writing to your MP and/or our latest briefings for politicians.
| Drug | Pack size | Price concession |
| Amoxicillin 250mg/5ml oral suspension | 100 | £2.16 |
| Anastrozole 1mg tablets | 28 | £1.38 |
| Aripiprazole 10mg tablets | 28 | £6.88 |
| Aripiprazole 15mg tablets | 28 | £7.30 |
| Aripiprazole 5mg tablets | 28 | £6.12 |
| Azithromycin 250mg capsules | 6 | £4.45 |
| Baclofen 10mg tablets | 84 | £2.71 |
| Bimatoprost 100micrograms/ml eye drops | 3 | £4.33 |
| Bimatoprost 300micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye drops | 3 | £8.75 |
| Bumetanide 1mg tablets | 28 | £2.46 |
| Calcipotriol 0.005% / Betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% gel | 60 | £22.91 |
| Calcipotriol 0.005% / Betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% ointment | 30 | £10.11 |
| Cefalexin 250mg capsules | 28 | £2.04 |
| Cefalexin 500mg capsules | 21 | £2.46 |
| Chloramphenicol 0.5% eye drops | 10 | £4.35 |
| Cinacalcet 30mg tablets | 28 | £7.79 |
| Clarithromycin 125mg/5ml oral suspension | 70 | £4.03 |
| Clarithromycin 250mg/5ml oral suspension | 70 | £5.50 |
| Co-amoxiclav 250mg/125mg tablets | 21 | £2.44 |
| Co-amoxiclav 500mg/125mg tablets | 21 | £3.84 |
| Co-careldopa 25mg/100mg tablets | 100 | £7.55 |
| Co-codamol 15mg/500mg tablets | 100 | £3.11 |
| Co-codamol 30mg/500mg capsules | 100 | £5.70 |
| Colecalciferol 1,000unit capsules | 30 | £5.89 |
| Digoxin 125microgram tablets | 28 | £2.63 |
| Digoxin 250microgram tablets | 28 | £2.51 |
| Digoxin 62.5microgram tablets | 28 | £2.78 |
| Docusate 50mg/5ml oral solution sugar free | 300 | £17.75 |
| Donepezil 5mg tablets | 28 | £1.60 |
| Dorzolamide 20mg/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye drops 0.2ml unit dose preservative free | 60 | £24.03 |
| Dorzolamide 20mg/ml eye drops | 5 | £3.55 |
| Duloxetine 20mg gastro-resistant capsules | 28 | £7.52 |
| Duloxetine 30mg gastro-resistant capsules | 28 | £1.98 |
| Duloxetine 40mg gastro-resistant capsules | 56 | £11.25 |
| Duloxetine 60mg gastro-resistant capsules | 28 | £3.06 |
| Escitalopram 10mg tablets | 28 | £1.22 |
| Escitalopram 20mg tablets | 28 | £1.43 |
| Escitalopram 5mg tablets | 28 | £2.50 |
| Esomeprazole 40mg gastro-resistant capsules | 28 | £2.81 |
| Estradiol 10microgram pessaries | 24 | £9.40 |
| Estriol 1mg/g vaginal cream | 15 | £5.36 |
| Etoricoxib 30mg tablets | 28 | £4.03 |
| Etoricoxib 60mg tablets | 28 | £11.89 |
| Etoricoxib 90mg tablets | 28 | £11.42 |
| Ezetimibe 10mg tablets | 28 | £10.10 |
| Famotidine 40mg tablets | 28 | £28.37 |
| Fenofibrate micronised 160mg tablets | 28 | £3.28 |
| Haloperidol 1.5mg tablets | 28 | £3.23 |
| Haloperidol 5mg tablets | 28 | £4.35 |
| Irbesartan 300mg tablets | 28 | £1.25 |
| Isotretinoin 20mg capsules | 30 | £9.83 |
| Ketoconazole 2% shampoo | 120 | £17.51 |
| Lactulose 3.1-3.7g/5ml oral solution | 500 | £3.38 |
| Latanoprost 50micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye drops | 2.5 | £6.01 |
| Lofepramine 70mg tablets | 56 | £18.05 |
| Mebeverine 200mg modified-release capsules | 60 | £6.42 |
| Memantine 10mg tablets | 28 | £1.20 |
| Memantine 10mg/ml oral solution sugar free | 50 | £42.50 |
| Memantine 20mg tablets | 28 | £1.60 |
| Metformin 1g modified-release tablets | 56 | £3.19 |
| Metformin 500mg modified-release tablets | 56 | £1.74 |
| Methylphenidate 10mg tablets | 30 | £2.98 |
| Metoclopramide 10mg tablets | 28 | £1.09 |
| Midazolam 10mg/2ml solution for injection ampoules | 10 | £5.33 |
| Mometasone 0.1% ointment | 30 | £3.38 |
| Mometasone 50micrograms/dose nasal spray | 140 | £9.20 |
| Montelukast 10mg tablets | 28 | £1.81 |
| Morphine sulfate 10mg/1ml solution for injection ampoules | 10 | £8.03 |
| Mycophenolate mofetil 500mg tablets | 50 | £6.50 |
| Nebivolol 2.5mg tablets | 28 | £10.96 |
| Nebivolol 5mg tablets | 28 | £6.00 |
| Nortriptyline 10mg tablets | 100 | £2.33 |
| Olanzapine 10mg tablets | 28 | £1.04 |
| Ondansetron 4mg tablets | 10 | £6.06 |
| Oxycodone 10mg/1ml solution for injection ampoules | 5 | £6.05 |
| Paracetamol 500mg effervescent tablets | 100 | £5.57 |
| Pregabalin 150mg capsules | 56 | £2.07 |
| Pregabalin 200mg capsules | 84 | £4.50 |
| Pregabalin 300mg capsules | 56 | £3.08 |
| Pregabalin 50mg capsules | 84 | £24.00 |
| Primidone 250mg tablets | 100 | £88.02 |
| Prochlorperazine 3mg buccal tablets | 50 | £8.43 |
| Propantheline bromide 15mg tablets | 112 | £100.61 |
| Pyridostigmine bromide 60mg tablets | 200 | £17.44 |
| Quetiapine 100mg tablets | 60 | £2.15 |
| Quetiapine 150mg tablets | 60 | £2.74 |
| Quetiapine 200mg tablets | 60 | £3.19 |
| Quinine sulfate 200mg tablets | 28 | £7.05 |
| Quinine sulfate 300mg tablets | 28 | £3.10 |
| Rasagiline 1mg tablets | 28 | £36.00 |
| Risperidone 2mg tablets | 60 | £1.92 |
| Risperidone 4mg tablets | 60 | £2.22 |
| Rizatriptan 10mg tablets | 3 | £6.67 |
| Ropinirole 2mg tablets | 28 | £26.95 |
| Ropinirole 500microgram tablets | 28 | £15.00 |
| Simvastatin 20mg tablets | 28 | £1.04 |
| Sodium chloride 0.9% nebuliser liquid 2.5ml unit dose ampoules | 20 | £9.50 |
| Sodium valproate 200mg/5ml oral solution sugar free | 300 | £11.85 |
| Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment | 60 | £35.28 |
| Tamsulosin 400microgram / Dutasteride 500microgram capsules | 30 | £11.50 |
| Temazepam 10mg tablets | 28 | £24.19 |
| Terbinafine 1% cream | 30 | £6.87 |
| Terbinafine 1% cream | 15 | £3.44 |
| Trospium chloride 20mg tablets | 60 | £12.24 |
| Zolmitriptan 2.5mg tablets | 6 | £16.45 |
| Zolmitriptan 2.5mg tablets | 12 | £32.90 |
| Zonisamide 100mg capsules | 56 | £23.31 |
| Zonisamide 50mg capsules | 56 | £23.57 |
Please note: Community Pharmacy England has submitted price concession applications for a number of other medicines affected by pricing issues this month. We will issue further updates as soon as we hear back from the Department.
Notes
There are no prices that rolled over from the previous month.
No additional endorsements are required for price concessions. A price concession only applies for the month it is granted; any prices agreed for concessions requested late in the month will roll over into the following month.
Next Steps
Pharmacies should continue to report any problems obtaining a Part VIII product at or below the stated Drug Tariff price, using the online feedback form on our website. Please include full details of the supplier and price paid for any products sourced above the Drug Tariff price. We will investigate the extent of the problem and, if appropriate, submit further price concession applications to DHSC. Any prices granted by DHSC, will only be agreed by Community Pharmacy England if they are supported by the reports received by our team.
Please subscribe to our mailing list to receive email updates of any price concessions.
Background to the changes
DHSC announced in the April 2024 Drug Tariff its decision to manage retained buying margin by limiting concessionary prices. From April to June 2024, DHSC will be seeking to recover c£5.4m per month from the community pharmacy sector by squeezing price concessions.
This experiment, imposed by DHSC under the direction of Ministers, is replacing the usual process of making margin adjustments to Category M reimbursement prices for this quarter. Community Pharmacy England remains firmly opposed to this approach, or any recovery of margin, given the very serious financial fragility of community pharmacies. We have serious concerns about the ongoing impact on pharmacy businesses and their patients.
Further information on price concessions and FAQs about the process involved can be found on our website (cpe.org.uk/priceconcessions). To hear more on how the current price concessions system operates, pharmacy teams can watch a recording of our webinar here.
