ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION
The European Commission Accepts Commitments from a Pharma Company to Stop Its Excessive Prices
On 15 May 2017, the European Commission (Commission) announced that it had opened formal proceedings to investigate whether a pharma company abused its dominant position by charging excessive prices for certain off-patent cancer medicines, in breach of EU antitrust rules.
The Commission found that the pharma company has consistently earned very high profits from its sale of these cancer medicines in Europe, both in absolute terms and when compared with the profit levels of similar companies in the industry. In fact, the company’s prices exceeded its relevant costs by almost 300 percent on average without the Commission’s investigation revealing any justifications for the company’s high-profit levels.
Brussels Regulatory Brief: February 2021 Friday, March 12, 2021
The European Commission Accepts Commitments from a Pharma Company to Stop Its Excessive Prices
On 15 May 2017, the European Commission (Commission) announced that it had opened formal proceedings to investigate whether a pharma company abused its dominant position by charging excessive prices for certain off-patent cancer medicines, in breach of EU antitrust rules.
The Commission found that the pharma company has consistently earned very high profits from its sale of these cancer medicines in Europe, both in absolute terms and when compared with the profit levels of similar companies in the industry. In fact, the company’s prices exceeded its relevant costs by almost 300 percent on average without the Commission’s investigation revealing any justifications for the company’s high-profit levels.