South Auckland Pharmacist To Take On GSK In Court

Community pharmacist Ian Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Pharmacy in Otara, South Auckland, has served a notice of claim on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The notice was filed with the Manukau District court last week. GSK now has 30 working days to respond with a Notice of Defence.

This action is in response to GSK’s Consumer Level medicine recall of Marevan (warfarin) 3mg tablets on 28 January 2010. Ian is filing this notice as a test case. Ian is President of the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild).

"When I got the fax from GSK about the recall, I knew it was a serious clinical situation,” says Ian. “I accepted that I had a professional duty to safeguard my patients.

“But I also saw this as GSK, whose medicine this was, asking me in my professional and business capacity to do work for them - necessary and urgent work. I expected that I would be paid reasonable compensation for my work.

“I invoiced GSK $395.10 (including GST) for the work involved in this recall. This included contacting seven patients, spending on average 15 minutes consulting with each patient, the dispensing fee for replacing four patients’ Marevan tablets, administration costs, briefing staff, liaising with GPs, internal stock management and GSK paperwork.”

GSK has refused to pay the invoice. “This is a small amount of money for a significant amount of work,” says Annabel Young, CE of the Guild. “We have tried to sit around the table with GSK to work this out, but have had no luck meeting with them.

“Johnson’s Pharmacy is a test case. Can a big business, which has to recall potent medicines, request urgent services, take the benefit of the services and then refuse to pay? It is a very serious question and we would welcome a judicial decision on this point of law.”

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1005/Signed_Notice_of_Claim.pdf

ENDS

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