From next October the Ministry of Health will not advertise for tenders for some of the most widely used antibiotics in British hospitals. The schemecomes into force from October Ist and,initially, will anply for twelve months. The Ministry have made it understood however that the scheme is almost certain to be renewed, The ban will hit a number of foreign companies, notably from Italy and Poland, who have been supplying the drugs at much cheaper rates. These firms will not be invited to supply them when their existing contracts run out in September. The drugs -concerred = the most important of which are chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide are widely used to treat infections like pneumonia and bronchitis. Thus the British based drug firms have won their struggle for protection.
This protection will further inflate the huge profits that these firms are making out of the National Health Service. Some indication of the position was given by Mr, Bob Edwards, M.P., president of the Chemical Workers' Union, when he spoke at his union's annual conference last weekend, "The average dividend for four large American firms operating in Britain was 70%," he stated, adding that such high dividends were due to their monopoly position particularly in antibiotics. Now this monopoly has been further strengthened by a Labour Government!
The union went on to pass, unanimously, an executive-sponsored resolution urging an enquiry into the drug and pharmaceutical section of the chemical industry, It is to be hoped that a campaign will be mounted for the nationalisation of this industry and its integration into an overall health and welfare scheme, with effective democratic control by the workers and technicians concemed.