EC expected to dish out more pay-for-delay fines

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EC expected to dish out more pay-for-delay fines

INICIO/Políticas y legislación | Posted 01/08/2014 0 Post your comment

The European Commission (EC) is planning to fine French drugmaker Les Laboratoires Servier (Servier) and generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Teva) in its latest round of investigations over so-called ‘pay-for-delay’ deals.

The fines are to be imposed on Servier and Teva, as well as up to four other generics companies, due to what the EC terms ‘anticompetitive agreements’ which the companies entered into and which the EC finds delayed the entry of generics on to the market.

The drug in question here is Servier’s hypertension treatment, Aceon (perindopril). The drug is an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) and to prevent heart attack in people with coronary artery disease.

This is not the first time the EC has imposed fines on companies for what it terms ‘anticompetitive agreements’. Denmark’s Lundbeck and four generics companies were fined Euros 146 million in June 2013 for similar pay-for-delay deals, related to Lundbeck’s antidepressant Celexa (citalopram) [1].

Six months later, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis were fined Euros 16.3 million for anticompetitive agreements, which the EC believes delayed the market entry of a generic version of the painkiller Duragesic (fentanyl) in The Netherlands [2].

The fines for Servier and Teva are expected to be announced by the end of July 2014.

EC accuses J&J and Novartis of delaying generic fentanyl

References
1. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. Lundbeck and 4 generics makers fined for pay-to-delay deals [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2014 Aug 1]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Policies-Legislation/Lundbeck-and-4-generics-makers-fined-for-pay-for-delay-deals
2. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. EU problematic patent settlements remain at low level [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2014 Aug 1]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Reports/EU-problematic-patent-settlements-remain-at-low-level

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Source: Bloomberg, Reuters