Brussels, 21/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 21 October, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation, on its own initiative, to assess whether contractual arrangements between US-based pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and the generic branches of the Swiss-based company Novartis may have had the object or effect of hindering the entry onto the market of generic versions of Fentanyl in the Netherlands. Fentanyl is a strong pain killer for chronic pain. The Commission says the duration of the investigaiton will depend on the complexity of the case and the extent to which the companies cooperate.
The Commission said that it pays particularly close attention to business practices in the pharmaceutical sector as a previous sector inquiry had shown that so-called “originator” drug companies may be paying to delay the entry onto the market of generic medicines. This keeps prices high and reduces the range of medicines available to consumers and state-funded health care.
Following the opening of its broad competition inquiry into the pharmaceutical industry, the Commission has opened similar investigations into French company Servier, Denmark's Lundbeck and US company Cephalon over potential violations of competition rules for generic medicines. (FG/transl.fl)