Brussels, 03/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has taken a decision ordering IMS Health, the world leader in data collection on pharmaceutical sales and prescriptions, to licence its "1860 brick structure", which segments Germany into sales zones or "bricks". After careful analysis, the Commission considers that IMS' refusal to grant a licence for the use of the structure, which has become a national standard in the German pharmaceutical industry, constitutes a prima facie abuse of a dominant position. The refusal makes it impossible for new competitors to enter or stay in the pharmaceutical sales data market and is likely to cause serious and irreparable damage to IMS' two current competitors. These are interim measures, meaning that IMS can appeal against them to the Court of Justice. EUROPE will report on this subject in more detail in a future edition.