On Thursday 4 March, the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Teva has illegally delayed the market entry and uptake of medicines that compete with Copaxone, its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug. The Commission will investigate whether the company has abused a dominant market position in breach of EU competition rules.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said: “We have decided to launch an in-depth investigation into whether Teva may have abusively blocked or delayed the market entry of competitors to its blockbuster drug Copaxone, to the detriment of patients and health systems”.
Copaxone contains the active pharmaceutical ingredient glatiramer acetate.
In 2015, Teva’s basic patent covering glatiramer acetate expired. The Commission will investigate whether Teva may have artificially extended the market exclusivity of Copaxone by strategically filing and withdrawing divisional patents, thereby delaying the entry of its generic competitor.
In addition, the investigation will examine whether Teva may have pursued a communication campaign to unduly hinder the use of competing glatiramer acetate products. The Commission has indications that Teva’s campaign may have targeted competing products to create a false perception of the health risks associated with their use. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)