Aspirin prices 'rise 1,000%' amid supply shortage

The cost of aspirin has "risen 1000%" amid a shortage across the country, a pharmacist has said.

Supply chain issues had led some stockists to raise prices, Mo Kolia, superintendent pharmacist at Knights in Redditch and Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said. He added he had seen a charge of £7.82 for a box which previously cost 38p.

According to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) 86% of its surveyed pharmacies have been unable to supply aspirin to their patients. Stocks were being reserved for those with acute conditions or with emergency prescriptions.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it had "robust measures in place to mitigate disruption for patients."

About 50.9 million items of aspirin were prescribed in the UK between January and October last, the NPA said, making it one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the country.

Patients needing a regular supply include those with a history of strokes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetes.

"Suppliers have said that they are having difficulty in manufacturing, it could be due to a difficulty in obtaining raw materials from Europe but we haven't been told the specifics but we know there is certainly an issue around getting supplies into the UK," Kolia told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

He added: "We had this problem last year with penicillin, it's an ongoing issue but it's worsening. We've just been informed that another anti-coagulation medication, apixaban, is now going out of stock."

A number of pharmacies have said they have stopped making aspirin available for over the counter sales.

Kolia added: "The suppliers that have got aspirin have increased the price by 1000% so no pharmacy is going to be able to afford to get it in."

"There's a supplier I've looked at today which is charging £7.82 for a box of aspirin which we previously paid 38p for.

"You may find many supermarkets where they have managed to get a hold of stock but they have increased their prices so you might previously have got aspirin for 70p and now it's around £3.

The NPA has called on the government to speed up plans to scrap a law that prevents pharmacists from making substitutions to prescriptions when met with low stock issues.

Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association said: "For those pharmacies that can get hold of supply, costs will far exceed what they will be reimbursed by the NHS, yet more signs of a fundamentally broken pharmacy contract in desperate need of reform by the government.

"The status quo is not only frustrating for patients, it is also dangerous."

A DHSC spokesperson said: "We are strengthening our domestic resilience further by investing up to £520m to manufacture more medicines, diagnostics, and medical technologies in the UK.

"We are also working closely with the NHS, regulators and other key partners to cut red tape to grow our life sciences sector and with international partners to bolster supply chains."