The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued a statement on 19 April 2013 stating that agreements made between GSK and generic drug companies Alpharma (part of US-based generics group Actavis), Generics UK (part of Mylan) and Norton Healthcare (part of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries) ‘acted to delay effective competition in the UK supply of paroxetine’.

The accusations come more than a decade after the agreements took place and are the first such accusation by the OFT relating to what are known as ‘pay-for-delay’ arrangements among pharmaceuticals companies.

The OFT is saying that GSK abused its position as the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company and denied the NHS significant cost savings (estimated at around GBP 100 million) on paroxetine between 2001 and 2004, the period in question.

GSK has until August 2013 to respond formally to the OFT if it wants to submit evidence that challenges the accusation of market abuse. If GSK is found to have infringed competition law, it could be fined up to 10% of its worldwide sales. GSK posted global sales of GBP 26.4 billion in 2012.

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