On Wednesday 10 February, the European Commission accepted the commitments offered by Aspen to reduce the prices it charges in Europe for six essential off-patent cancer medicines by an average of 73%. In addition, this global pharmaceutical company, headquartered in South Africa, has to guarantee the continued supply of these medicines, whose patents have expired, for a significant period.
“These commitments remove entirely the Commission’s concerns of excessive pricing in breach of EU competition rules”, said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for Competition Policy, in a statement to the press. This will makeAspen’s cancer treatments “immediately more affordable, saving European health systems millions of euros and make the medicines available for people who need it”, she added.
Vulnerable patients are particularly dependent on these treatments, the Vice-President recalled. “Aspen acquired these medicines in 2009. From 2012 onwards, it progressively started to increase their prices”.
On 15 May 2017, the Commission launched a formal investigation into Aspen’s pricing practices regarding six essential anti-cancer medicines whose patent had expired. The company was able to carry out these price increases because patients and doctors generally had no choice but to use these specific cancer medicines.
Aspen proposed a series of commitments. In July 2020, the Commission consulted stakeholders to verify whether the proposed commitments were suitable to remove competition concerns (see EUROPE 12527/17).
The company has made certain adjustments to its proposed commitments.
The Commission found that Aspen’s final commitments offer a fast, comprehensive and lasting solution to the competition concerns it had identified, and therefore has made them legally binding.
Commitments. Aspen will reduce its prices across Europe for the six cancer medicines by, on average, approximately 73%, which is on average below the prices of 2012, before Aspen’s price increases started.
The reduced prices will be the maximum that Aspen can charge for the coming 10 years, which will start taking effect already as of 1 October 2019 (retroactively).
Aspen will guarantee the supply of these medicines over the next five years and then, for an additional five-year period, will either continue to supply or make its marketing authorisation available to other suppliers.
The commitments will remain in force for ten years. Under supervision of the Commission, a trustee will be in charge of monitoring the implementation and compliance with the commitments.
These commitments cover all six treatments in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
The only Member State not included in this decision is Italy, said Margrethe Vestager, “because a separate decision covering that country was already taken by the Italian competition authority”.
More info on this case: http://bit.ly/3q83EIR (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)