CAPE TOWN, South Africa — U.S.-based prescription drugs firm Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” costs for a key tuberculosis drug, the nation’s antitrust regulator stated Friday.

J&J‘s Belgium-based subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals is also under investigation, South Africa’s Competition Commission stated.

The fee, which regulates enterprise practices, stated it opened the investigation this week based mostly on data that the businesses “may have engaged in exclusionary practices and excessive pricing” of the tuberculosis drug bedaquiline, which is offered underneath the model title Sirturo.

The Competition Commission declined to provide additional particulars of its investigation, however well being advocacy teams in South Africa say the nation is being charged greater than twice as a lot for bedaquiline than different middle- and low-income nations.

Bedaquiline was authorised in 2012 and is used to deal with drug-resistant TB. It is desperately wanted by South Africa, the place the infectious illness is the main reason behind demise, killing greater than 50,000 folks in 2021. South Africa has greater than 7 million folks residing with HIV, greater than every other nation on this planet. The World Health Organization says that almost one-third of deaths amongst individuals who have HIV/AIDS are as a consequence of tuberculosis.

Globally, TB instances elevated in 2021 for the primary time in years, in line with the WHO.

J&J has beforehand confronted calls to drop its costs for bedaquiline and stated final month that it might present a six-month course of the drug for one affected person by way of the Stop TB Partnerships Global Drug Facility at a value of $130.

The South African authorities purchases its bedaquiline immediately from J&J and Janssen and never by way of the Stop TB facility and was paying round $280 for a six-month course for a affected person, in line with Professor Norbert Ndjeka, who leads the nationwide division of well being’s TB management and administration.

Ndjeka stated that South Africa had lately concluded a brand new two-year take care of J&J for bedaquiline at a barely larger value than $280 per course, in line with a report on the News24 web site.

The Competition Commission stated it was confirming the investigation as a consequence of heightened media curiosity, however wouldn't reply to requests for remark or extra details about the probe.

It comes per week after a well being advocacy group launched particulars of South Africa‘s COVID-19 vaccine buy contracts with quite a few pharmaceutical corporations, together with J&J and U.S.-based Pfizer. They have been obtained after the group, the Health Justice Intiative, received a freedom of data case in courtroom.

The group says the contracts present J&J charged South Africa 15% extra per vaccine dose than it charged the a lot richer European Union. Pfizer charged South Africa greater than 30% extra per vaccine than it charged the African Union, at the same time as South Africa struggled to amass doses whereas having extra COVID-19 infections than wherever else on the continent.

In the contract, South Africa was required to pay Pfizer $40 million prematurely for doses, with solely $20 million refundable if the vaccines weren’t delivered, the Health Justice Initiative stated. J&J additionally required a non-refundable downpayment of $27.5 million.

Pfizer reported report revenues of $100.3 billion in 2022. J&J made $94.9 billion in gross sales final yr.

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