Can someone explain why Xalatan, a tiny 2.5ml bottle of eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma, still costs €26 in Malta when the same item in Spain costs just €10.04?
The 10-year brand protection period has long passed. Moreover, the generic Latanoprost has also been available for quite a while for the same price of €10.04c. The generic in the UK costs £7. Is the generic not available locally to protect the inflated price in Malta of Xalatan?
Agents locally are in business to make a profit but then so are agents in other countries, so why this huge difference in prices?
On the same theme, in the recent list of the so-called reduced prices of certain medicine, I noticed that the price of Nexium (28 capsules) has been reduced from €39 to €38, a grand (!) difference of €1, when the same medicine is available in Italy for €7 for 14 capsules and even cheaper in Greece.
We customers are certainly being taken for a ride.