The UK’s second-largest supermarket chain is slashing the price of IVF fertility drugs to position itself as the most competitive pharmacy in the country. A spokesman for Asda, a WalMart subsidiary, explained: “IVF is extremely expensive and around 40,000 women go through it every year. More than 80% of our customers are women and so naturally we want to help to reduce the cost of IVF by offering the medication on a not for profit basis, saving our customers as much as £820 per cycle of treatment." 

An article in the Daily Mail gives some background on how IVF is becoming a highly competitive commercial business:

“IVF - or in vitro fertilisation - is one of the fastest and most profitable branches of medicine… A single cycle of IVF treatment at a private clinic is believed to cost about £5,000. Infertility is the most common reason for women aged 20 to 45 to see their GP after pregnancy. The failure to conceive during the three NHS cycles has led to the boom in private clinics in the UK offering the service for thousands of pounds. There are currently 115 private clinics licensed to carry out fertility treatment. The fertility industry is worth around £500 million and last year produced more than 13,000 babies in the UK. The huge demand and competition from cheaper clinics abroad has pushed supermarkets to enter the market and push prices down.”

~ Daily Mail, Mar 3