Spanish Competition Authority Carries Out Another Series of Dawn Raids in Pharmaceutical Sector
- 27/05/2019
- Articles
The Spanish competition authority, the "Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia ("CNMC"), published today two press releases indicating that it carried out on premise inspections with two pharmaceutical firms suspected of having engaged in abusive behaviour (see attached press releases).
One case involves an inhalator indicated for the treatment of obstructive pulmonary disorders in adults. The firm at issue is accused of shutting out competitors for the supply of the product to health services and hospitals throughout Spain.
The second case relates to a combined hormonal contraceptive medicine on a recently liberalised market. The press release suggests (but does not say so expressly) that the targeted firm may have tried to stop generic market entry. It did so (and on this point the press release is explicit) by the allegedly anti-competitive use of court action and laws in order to hinder market entry.
The inspections follow on the heels of another dawn raid on account of suspected abuse of dominance with regard to a medicine indicated for the treatment of specific autoimmune diseases (see, Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences Newsflash, 25 April 2019).
