Amid strep A out­break in the UK, gov­ern­ment watch­dog in­ves­ti­gates soar­ing an­tibi­ot­ic prices

An­tibi­ot­ic prices for strep A have soared in the UK over the last two weeks as an un­usu­al­ly ear­ly rise in the bac­te­r­i­al in­fec­tion has hit the re­gion and caused 60 deaths, in­clud­ing 13 chil­dren.

On Wednes­day, UK gov­ern­ment watch­dog Com­pe­ti­tion and Mar­kets Au­thor­i­ty (CMA) said it launched an in­for­mal in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to the ris­ing prices as com­plaints from phar­ma­cists have poured in.

“We are work­ing to es­tab­lish the facts of what is cur­rent­ly hap­pen­ing in the mar­ket and wel­come new in­for­ma­tion as part of our work,” a CMA spokesper­son said in an emailed state­ment. “We stand ready to take ac­tion if there is ev­i­dence of an­ti-com­pet­i­tive be­hav­ior that breaks the law.”

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