translated from Spanish: Ahumada pharmacies say they have not been notified of conviction for collusion

Through a statement Pharmacies Ahumada noted that they have not yet received notification regarding the conviction for collusion following the ruling of the 10th Civil Court of Santiago, which was in favor of the lawsuit filed by the National Consu mid-ort (Sernac). The ruling, released in February 2013, decreed that both Salcobrand, Cruz Verde and Pharmacies Ahumada would have to pay $2 billion to the affected consumers, as a result of the illegal and concerted increase in the price of medicines, with which the companies have artificially raised drug prices by nearly 50%, several of which require a prescription and are used to treat chronic diseases, including a total of at least 206 drugs. But from Pharmacies Ahumada indicate that they have already compensated affected customers in 2009, through “a plan to return money up to $2.5 billion”. In the press release they state that this plan “was implemented following the guidelines granted by Sernac himself and was audited in the entirety of its stages by a prestigious external audit company, completely independent of Pharmacies Ahumada”. They also add that “The facts that gave rise to this failure occurred before Pharmacies Ahumada joined the Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), a global pharmacy, health and wellness company that acquires the company in 2014. Since then we have maintained a responsible and transparent relationship with all our stakeholders and have supported any measure that improves the transparency of this activity.”

Original source in Spanish