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Glenwayne Suchit, president of the Private Pharmacy Retail Business Association (PPRBA), at his Croisee, San Juan, pharmacy, during an interview with Newsday on December 4. - ANDREW GIOANNETTIPHARMACIST Glenwayne Suchit, head of the two-year-old Private Pharmacy Retail Business Association (PPRBA), says he is placing full confidence in the Prime Minister’s commitment to address what he views as a rapidly consolidating monopoly in the pharmaceutical sector.
Suchit told Newsday he was concerned that market concentration has reached the point where too many independent pharmacies are struggling to survive, consumers are feeling the effects in rising prices, and regulators must now confront structural issues long left unmanaged.
Speaking at his San Juan pharmacy three days after appearing before Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) on December 1, Suchit said he believes the new administration has correctly diagnosed the problem.
“She has to,” he said when asked if he expects the Prime Minister to follow through on tackling consolidation.
“Her goal, I am hoping, is to help the people of TT. Our goal…is to break the monopoly, bring down prices, and give pharmacies a chance of survival.”
The PAAC hearing opened an inquiry into the State’s acquisition of pharmaceuticals.
It was adjourned to January 26, after issuing subpoenas to several institutions including the Ministry of Finance, the Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division (CFDD), Customs and Excise, the Pharmacy Board, the Office of Procurement Regulation, and Nipdec, which procures drugs for the public sector.
Suchit submitted an 80-page report prepared by a team led by attorney Ted Roopnarine, containing survey findings detailing what the PPRBA views as a deepening concentration of ownership and influence in the market.
Agostini responds
Aventa’s parent company, Agostini Ltd, issued a press release on December 5 outlining its market footprint and stating it “welcomes reviews by regulatory authorities.”
The release said the distribution sector remains “regulated and competitive, with more than 70 registered distributors.”
It said Aventa secured “34.3 per cent of the tender award by value and 16.6 per cent by number of products” in the 2023–2025 procurement cycle, and placed the combined retail share of SuperPharm and MPharmacy at 18 per cent.
Agostini also highlighted its role in “supporting accountability and access.”
Suchit said the company’s figures, although accurate, inadvertently highlight the same issues flagged in his submission to Parliament.
“They are actually endorsing my report because they show 34 per cent public procurement,” he said.
“When added to Bryden…together they are 54 per cent, controlling more than half of government tenders.”
The PPRBA’s analysis, provided to the PAAC, concluded that Aventa controls an estimated 74 per cent of the private wholesale market, while Aventa and Bryden dominate a majority of public-sector procurement by value.
Suchit said consolidation has accelerated over the last few years.
“We just started to see prices skyrocketing…when we realised Smith Robertson, now Aventa, was controlling the majority of things that we have to buy.”
He listed several acquisitions and lost product lines across competitors: “They purchased M-Pharm…they took over Oscar Francois…AP Scott lost the IPCA line…Optima Pharmaceuticals lost some of the Health 2000 product lines.”
He added that Agostini’s dominance now extends along the entire supply chain. “In this country, you have Aventa owning manufacturing plants…Aventa distributors supplying SuperPharms and M-Pharms.”
Through its subsidiaries, the group owns pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Barbados and has expanded operations into Curaçao, Aruba and Jamaica.
These plants supply Aventa, its TT distribution arm, while the company’s ownership of SuperPharm and MPharmacy places retail under the same umbrella.
Suchit said the impact has been clear.
“Pharmacies closing down fast,” he noted, pointing to Pharmacy Board data showing 38 closures in 2025.
Independent pharmacies, he said, frequently encounter inconsistent pricing and have complained that distributors sometimes withhold stock from wider circulation.
Unfinished online database
Suchit expressed frustration with the CFDD’s approval timelines, saying routine vitamins and over-the-counter products can take up to a decade to be registered. “It is more difficult to register a drug or a vitamin in this country than in America or any other country,” he said.
He added that the online drug database promised in 2023 remains incomplete. “Up to now, 18 months afterwards – nothing.”
Without it, he said, neither pharmacists nor customs officers can reliably confirm what is officially approved.
$80 million in expired drugs
A significant point before the PAAC was the discovery of roughly $80 million in expired pharmaceuticals at Nipdec’s central stores – a figure Health Minister Lakram Bodoe disclosed in May.
Suchit said he raised concerns about expired stock as early as August 2023.
“I told (former health minister Terrence) Deyalsingh I got information that there were $18 million in expired goods there. He denied that…said I was fabricating.”
He said the accumulated wastage reflects years of poor forecasting, excessive order quantities and weak oversight. He cited both the quantities demanded by international suppliers and government ordering practices, arguing that large, inflexible contracts have repeatedly resulted in oversupply.
“The quantities the government orders are way more than a batch requirement,” he said.
He referenced one case involving the anticoagulant Clexane, where RHAs had requested stock while significant quantities were left sitting until close to expiry.
Hypothetically, he said, “You are not going to order a million Panadol for a two-year tender knowing you are using 500,000. From this year, they changed tenders to one year…and that makes more sense.”
CDAP-registered pharmacies “working for free”
Suchit said the CDAP programme has deteriorated sharply, with widespread hardware and software failures under the previous administration and no replacement strategy.
Many pharmacies, he said, paid for their own equipment to stay operational.
But there is also an issue of unpaid claims.
“As of now…the last time we got our payment for CDAP was March this year. So we are working free for the government right now.” He estimated that more than 200 pharmacies continue to provide the service, absorbing all operating costs.
Fair Trade Commission under scrutiny
At the PAAC hearing, the Fair Trading Commission’s (FTC) handling of market-concentration complaints was contested.
Suchit said he submitted correspondence to the FTC in 2024, but the agency insisted it did not accept written complaints and required a detailed form “you need a team of lawyers to get.”
He said the commission misunderstood its powers. “The chair of the JSC ended up teaching them the law…We now realise the Fair Trade Commission could have acted a year ago. They did not need a complaint from us.”
Instead, the body could have launched its own investigation as soon as concerns became evident.
He said regulators must be strengthened and legislation updated to give clearer lines of authority in cases of vertical integration.
“The FTC has to use their powers…If Aventa is really in breach of that 40 per cent, several punitive actions can be taken.”
But he stressed that the fundamental issue is policy reform.
Suchit said the PPRBA maintains a constructive working relationship with the Ministry of Health and believes the PAAC inquiry will result in overdue institutional reforms. And he said the association will continue pressing for balance in the market.
“Either way,” he said, “the drive is not going to stop.”
See part two in Monday's Newsday
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