Dutch Competition Authority Largely Maintains Findings of Excessive Pricing Against Medicine Supplier Leadiant But Reduces Fine
- 12/07/2023
- News
Autoriteit Consument & Markt, the Dutch competition authority (ACM), announced on 11 July 2023 that it had considered the objections raised by Leadiant against its earlier decision of 1 July 2021 finding Leadiant guilty of an abuse of dominant position in the form of excessive prices charged for chenodeoxycholic acid (“CDCA”) Leadiant, a medicine indicated for the treatment of patients afflicted with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, a rare metabolic disorder (see, Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News and Insights, 20 July 2021).
ACM decided to maintain the bulk of the findings underlying its 2021 decision. Still, it reduced the fine imposed on Leadiant from EUR 19,569,500 to 17,044,000 because it considered that, during a brief period of time, Leadiant had not been dominant on the relevant market. During that time, CDCA Leadiant had been subject to competition from a compounded form of CDCA prepared and supplied by the Amsterdam University Medical Centres. ACM observed that Leadiant had temporarily lost its dominant position which required a proportionate reduction of the fine.
ACM’s adapted decision is open to an appeal to the court of Rotterdam. Dutch and English summaries of that decision, prepared by ACM, are attached
