On Monday 20 June, the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation to determine whether Vifor Pharma has restricted competition by illegally disparaging Pharmacosmos, its closest and potentially only competitor in Europe in the intravenous iron therapy market.
Vifor Pharma’s conduct appears to be aimed at “hindering competition in favour of its blockbuster high-dose intravenous iron treatment medicine, Ferinject”, the institution explains.
According to Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, “the dissemination of misleading information regarding the safety of Pharmacosmos’ iron deficiency treatment, Monofer, may have delayed its uptake”.
The Commission has indications that for many years Vifor Pharmamay have been disparaging Monofer by spreading misleading information regarding its safety.
The Commission is concerned that Vifor Pharma may have conducted a misleading marketing campaign, primarily targeting healthcare professionals, which may have unduly hindered Monofer’s uptake in the European Economic Area (EEA). Approximately 1.8 million patients with iron deficiency are currently being treated with high-dose intravenous iron medicines in the EEA every year.
If the Commission’s concerns are confirmed, Vifor Pharma’s conduct could amount to an abuse of their dominant position and infringe Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Vifor Pharma is a global pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland. Pharmacosmos is a smaller Danish family-owned pharmaceutical company specialising in the treatment of iron deficiencies. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)