On Tuesday 30 June, the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation to determine whether the US group Align Technology, which specialises in medical devices, has infringed European Union competition rules (Article 102 TFEU) by tying the sale of its intra-oral scanners to that of its transparent dental aligners marketed under the Invisalign brand in the European Economic Area.
This investigation, launched following the lodging of a complaint by a competitor, is the first formal antitrust investigation in the medical devices sector, the EU institution said in a press release.
The Commission is asking whether Align Technology has used its leading market position to force orthodontists to buy iTero scanners in order to be able to advise their patients to use Invisalign clear aligners.
In its investigation, it will examine whether Align Technology has put in place a closed ecosystem by refusing: - to approve the use of competing scanners for the automated transmission to Align Technology of digital scans relating to Invisalign orders since 2017; - to accept scans sent by dental professionals and generated by other intra-oral scanners, even though those scanners comply with industry standards. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)