In order to ensure fair competition between domestic and foreign pharmacies, member states cannot set uniform prices for prescription-only medicines, the Court of Justice of the EU decided in a judgment delivered on Wednesday 19 October on the rules currently in force in Germany.
The ruling (case C-148/15) is fully in line with the opinion of Advocate General Maciej Szpunar (see EUROPE 11564), the Court taking the view that the legislation at issue constitutes an unjustified restriction of the free movement of goods. The reasoning of the Court, however, was significantly different.
It firstly said that the main argument of the German government (that imposing uniform prices ensures a better geographical distribution of traditional pharmacies in Germany) could not be demonstrated. On the contrary, the Court stated, certain factors tend to suggest that increased price competition between pharmacies would be conducive to a uniform supply of medicinal products in so far as it would encourage the establishment of pharmacies in regions where the scarcity of dispensaries allows for the charging of higher prices.
Neither was the Court persuaded by the argument that, in the absence of the system in question, there would be a price war that would result in a significant reduction in the number of dispensing pharmacies, threatening essential services, such as emergency care. Here again, the Court was more inclined to the view that price competition could benefit patients, with traditional pharmacies having to extend and enrich what they offer and lower their prices. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)