The Application of EU Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Abstract

This survey article discusses the major EU competition law developments in the pharmaceutical sector from 1 November 2015 through 31 December 2016. Section 2 addresses cases on restrictions of competition from generic suppliers, including the Lundbeck and Servier cases now on appeal to the EU courts, the new GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) decision in the UK, the European Commission's annual patent settlement monitoring exercise and the judgement of the French Supreme Court in Sanofi-Aventis. Section 3 covers the recent cases prosecuting excessive pricing, including the Aspen case in Italy and the Pfizer/Flynn and Actavis cases in the UK. Section 4 addresses the cases before the EU Court of Justice concerning licensing agreements, including Hoechst/Genentech and Roche/Novartis. Section 5 addresses recent decisions, judgements, and regulations in EU Member States on the ongoing issue of parallel trade. Finally, Section 6 covers the results of sector inquires reported by competition authorities in five EU Member States covering a broad range of issues arising in the pharmaceutical sector.