Dive Brief:
- The European Commission is fining Seriver $582 million for what it ruled was collusion with generics firms to delay generic competition against the antihypertensive perindopril.
- Using technology acquisitions and patent settlements, five generics firms strategically excluded competitors, the commission ruled. This behavior is a violation of antitrust laws.
- Between 2005 and 2007, the implicated generics firms agreed to not enter the market as competitors in exchange for a share of Servier’s “rent.”
Dive Insight:
The generics firms that were involved in the activities include Niche/Unichem, Matrix, Teva, Krka and Lupin. Servier used various strategies to control competition against perindopril, which is Servier’s top-selling drug, the EC ruled.
According to the EC, the behavior not only violates anti-trust behavior, but is costly to public health systems and has a negative impact on patients. In a statement, Joaquin Alumnia said, “Competitors cannot agree to share markets or market rents instead of competing, even when these agreements are in the form of patent settlements. Such practices directly harm patients, national health systems and taxpayers.”