High court quashes Countdown pharmacy licences

Pharmacy competition wars have continued to the high court. (Image: Getty)

Fri, 16 Jun 2023

The high court in Wellington has ruled that licences granted by the Ministry of Health to operate Countdown pharmacies were unlawful and invalid. It further ruled that an order should be made to set aside those licences. At the time of the hearing, the Ministry of Health (MoH) had granted five licences to Countdown pharmacy companies, in Wainuiomata and Gisborne – which were subject to the ruling – along with Penrose and Grey Lynn in Auckland and Nelson.However, the court also stated that there were currently 42 Countdown pharm...

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