Big Pharma’s Johnson & Johnson under investigation in South Africa over ‘excessive’ drug prices

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug. The government-appointed commission that regulates business practices in the country announced the investigation on Friday. South Africa’s Competition Commission says J&J’s Belgium-based subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals is also under investigation. The commission says it has information that the companies “may have engaged in exclusionary practices and excessive pricing” over the tuberculosis drug bedaquiline. Health advocacy groups say South Africa is being charged more than other countries for the drug. Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in South Africa.