2nd UPDATE: Sainsbury To Match Asda On Private Cancer Drugs Pricing

U.K. supermarket group J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN ) said Thursday it will match rival Asda Group Ltd. on retail pricing for cancer drugs after the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) chain said it will sell treatments on private prescription at cost price.

Asda--the second-largest supermarket retailer in the U.K. by sales and market share behind Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN )--said the not-for-profit price would be effective in its stores from May 24, the same day as Sainsbury's offer starts.

Asda's move, which it claims will save patients thousands of pounds per treatment, puts pressure on other supermarkets and pharmacies to match the offer. Supermarket rivals Tesco and William Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) had no immediate comment.

Lung cancer drug Iressa will be sold at a price of GBP2,167.71, compared with GBP2,601.2, GBP3,251.57 and GBP3,253.56 at high-street pharmacy rival Lloyds, Alliance Boots PLC's high-street peer Boots Group PLC and health and beauty retailer Superdrug respectively, the group said.

Kidney cancer drug Afinitor will be priced at GBP2,250.00 at Asda, a GBP750 and GBP450.03 reduction on prices at Sainsbury's and Tesco respectively, it said.

Asda also said it is working with suppliers to negotiate further discounts on the trade price of privately-prescribed cancer drugs, with any savings passed directly on to customers.

Asda said research showed pharmacies are marking up the cost of the drugs on private prescriptions by 76%, with 63% of consumers unaware that private prescription prices vary between them.

"Cancer is the U.K.'s second biggest killer, affecting nearly 300,000 people per year and for many the cost of treatment is well above what they can afford," Asda said in a statement.

In the U.K., as well as being eligible for price mark-ups by retailers, some cancer drugs are considered too costly to be available on the state-run National Health Service, Asda said. In addition, it said the annual spend per cancer patient by primary care trusts in the U.K. varies according to location.

In March, Asda announced it would sell in vitro fertilization medication on private prescription, also at cost price, prompting a price match offer from Sainsbury's.

-By Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410; simon.zekaria@dowjones.com

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