The European Commission, on Tuesday 14 July, invited all interested parties to submit their comments on the commitments proposed by Aspen in order to address its concerns about excessive pricing.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of Competition Policy, said the Commission is concerned that Aspen's conduct in this case “amounts to excessive pricing by a dominant firm, which is prohibited by EU competition rules”.
After acquiring the cancer medicines from another company, Aspen, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in South Africa, began to raise their prices in several countries (see EUROPE 11788/18).
In order to achieve price increases, often by several hundred percent, Aspen relied on the fact that patients and doctors had mostly no alternatives to using these particular cancer medicines.
Aspen has committed to reduce its prices in Europe for six off-patent cancer medicines by approximately 73% over the next ten years and to guarantee the supply of these medicines for the next five years (and for the additional five years Aspen will either continue to supply or make its marketing authorisation available to other suppliers). Before taking a decision, the Commission invites all interested parties to present their views on the commitments proposed by Aspen. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)