In a split decision, the Cape High Court has rejected the appeal application by pharmacy groups including listed retailer New Clicks Holdings and the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) in their case challenging the government’s new medicine pricing regulations.
The new regulations, which went into effect from August, set single exit prices at the wholesale level for medicines, while also fixing pharmacists’ dispensing fees at 26% for medicines costing less than R100 and a maximum of R26 for those costing R100 or more.
In its original ruling, the Cape High Court upheld the government regulations, also in a split decision, but the pharmacy groups had asked for leave to appeal the decision.
On September 20, the Cape High Court reserved judgment on the appeal. In Friday’s decision, the court was split along the same lines as in its original ruling, with Judge President John Hlope and Judge Jimmy Yekiso opting to dismiss the pharmacy group’s application with costs. Dissenting opinion came from Judge Jeannette Traverso, who said she would have granted leave to appeal.
In a move to speed up the legal process prior to Friday, the grouping of pharmacists has applied directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the Cape High Court’s original decision, but the Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved judgment in the case. – I-Net Bridge