Indian drug firms Lupin and Unichem Laboratories are among six global drug makers on which the European regulator has imposed a collective fine of 427.7 million euros for striking deals to prevent entry of cheaper version of blood pressure drug Perindopril in the EU.
As per the European Commission anti-trust ruling, Lupin has been fined 40 million euros (nearly Rs 325 crore), while Unichem Laboratories 13.96 million euros (over Rs 110 crore).
The companies have been pulled up for striking a series of deals with French firm Servier, which used to sell patented perindopril drug, so that cheaper copies of the drug are not launched in the EU.
Besides Servier, the other drug makers on whom the European Commission has imposed fines totaling 427.7 million euros are Matrix (now part of Mylan), Teva and Krka.
"Through technology acquisition and a series of patent settlements with generic rivals, Servier implemented a strategy to exclude competitors and delay the entry of cheaper generic medicine to the detriment of public budgets and patients in breach of EU antitrust rules," European Commission said in a statement.
Commenting on the ruling, European Commission Vice-President Joaquin Almunia, in charge of competition policy, said: "Servier had a strategy to systematically buy out any competitive threats to make sure that they stayed out of the market. Such behaviour is clearly anti-competitive and
abusive."
Competitors cannot agree to share markets or market rents instead of competing, even when these agreements are in the form of patent settlements, he added.
"Such practices directly harm patients, national health systems and taxpayers. Pharmaceutical companies should focus their efforts on innovating and competing rather than attempting to extract extra rents from patients," Almunia said.
Perindopril is a blockbuster blood pressure control medicine and used to be Servier's best-selling product.
Servier's patent for the perindopril molecule expired in 2003 but generic competitors continued to face a number of so-called "secondary" patents, European Commission said.
Between 2005 and 2007, virtually each time a generic company came close to entering the market, Servier and the company in question settled the challenge.
"This was not an ordinary transaction where two parties decide to settle a patent claim outside of court to save time and costs. Here, the generic companies agreed to abstain from competing in exchange for a share of Servier's rent. This happened at least five times between 2005 and 2007," Commission noted.
Further, various generic companies were "bought out of perindopril' by Servier, it said adding that "cash payments from Servier to generics amounted to several tens of millions of euros".
It is legitimate to apply for patents, to enforce them, to transfer technologies and to settle litigation. However, Servier misused such legitimate tools by shutting out a competing technology and buying out a number of competitors that had developed cheaper medicines, to avoid competing on their own merits, Commission said.
"Such behaviour violates EU antitrust rules that prohibit the abuse of a dominant market position," it added.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Lupin, Unichem among global cos fined by European regulator
Dengan url
http://gayafashionshow.blogspot.com/2014/07/lupin-unichem-among-global-cos-fined-by.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Lupin, Unichem among global cos fined by European regulator
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Lupin, Unichem among global cos fined by European regulator
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar