Clicks pharmacy battle heads to Constitutional Court
The legal battle between the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) and Clicks on pharmacy ownership and patient rights is heading to the Constitutional Court.
This is after the SCA upheld an appeal against a decision of the Western Cape High Court last year on whether the Clicks Group had contravened the Pharmacy Act by owning a drug-making facility.
The Citizen reports that the Clicks Group owns 100% of Clicks Retail, a chain of about 600 pharmacies including Unicorn Manufacturing.
The ICPA lodged a complaint with the Health Department against Clicks, calling for Unicorn’s manufacturing licence to be revoked.
Unicorn holds 39 generic medicines under the regulatory regimes that apply to the sale of medicines.
The ICPA secured a legal victory in June 2020 when the court ruled that Clicks’ corporate structure contravened certain regulations under the Pharmacy Act, prohibiting companies with a beneficial interest in community pharmacies from directly or indirectly owning manufacturing pharmacies.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
