Drastic variations in the value of 13 pharmaceutical contracts awarded by the government in the second half of last year have cost health authorities an extra €5.1 million over and above the original price.

Data just published in The Malta Government Gazette shows that the final bill for medicine products purchased by the government exceeded the budgeted expense by an average 57 per cent.

Figures provided by the Contracts Department show that the expense on the 13 contracts had initially been set at €9 million but the final sum paid by the Exchequer to the medicine suppliers reached €14.1 million.

In some cases the variation was as high as 99 per cent, meaning the final cost was practically double the original amount. Asked for an explanation, a Health Ministry spokeswoman told the Times of Malta the difference resulted from an increased demand in what she termed as the “dynamic uptake of clinical treatments”.

“Such variations are purely related to increase in more patients getting these treatments,” the spokeswoman said.

While noting that efforts were being made to reduce such drastic variations, the spokeswoman justified the extra money being forked out saying these were being spent in the patients’ interest.

“The Department of Health is working to develop strong forecasting models in order to limit such variations based on past trends and future requirements, although treatment patterns vary continuously and such variations guarantee availability of patient treatments,” she said.

An analysis of the 13 contracts awarded between July and December last year shows that in eight cases, the variation was 50 per cent or higher.

The biggest discrepancy was for the supply of human gamma globulin – a substance made from human blood plasma that contains antibodies that protect against diseases. Though the contract’s value awarded to A.M. Mangion Ltd was of €2.3 million, the final cost was double that amount, reaching €4.6 million.

The same supplier was also involved in the second biggest percentage variation that was related to the procurement of a medicinal administered by infusion. In this case, the health authorities ended up paying €589,200, or 92 per cent, more than the original value of €307,200. The second highest additional expense involved the supply of Trastuzmab injections, used in the treatment of cancer, whereby the supplier, Cherubino Ltd, received €2.1 million or €714,000 more than the health authorities had budgeted for.

Last month, this newspaper reported that a Health Ministry tender for the provision of 68 pharmaceutical products from a single supplier had been suspended amid protests by importers.

The decision was taken in April amid complaints that the contract seemed “tailor-made” for a foreign supplier because no local agent would be able to supply such a high volume of medicine products at one go.