Competition Council Investigates Drug Makers For Potential Unlawful Arrangements

The Competition Council of Romania has started four ex-officio investigations concerning potential breaches of national and European Union competition regulations on the pharmaceutical wholesale market. The investigations aim to establish whether pharmaceutical producers and their distributors have engaged into agreements that constitute a form of unfair competition, according to a press release from the Competition Council.

The four investigations concern Bayer SRL (a Romanian-based company controlled by Bayer AG, which acts as the direct importer of Bayer Consumer Care products to Romania), Baxter AG (a company controlled by Baxter - Switzerland, a group specialized in the treatment of complex conditions such as haemophilia, immunologic anomalies, kidney illnesses and infectious diseases), Belupo Pharmaceutical & Cosmetics d.d. (the second largest pharmaceutical company in Croatia and a known producer of medicines for cardio-vascular conditions and skin conditions) and Sintofarm SA (a Romanian producer of generic drugs for the central nervous system and the musculoskeletal system).

The pharmaceutical sector is a priority for the Competition Council, considering the existing dysfunctions. This is why we will intervene as often as necessary to restore fair competition on this market so that everyone may have access to medication for competitive prices," said Competition Council Chairman Bogdan Chiritoiu.

Within the investigations, Competition Council auditors performed several unannounced site visits to the offices of the respective companies. If a breach of competition regulations is identified, the company or companies at fault may be fined by up to 10% of their turnover. On the other hand, if a company wishes to cooperate with the Competition Council, they may obtain immunity to fine or a reduction of the fine by up to 50% if they file for clemency.

Under the new Clemency Programme, recently adopted by the Competition Council, clemency may also be petitioned in cases of arrangements between producers and their distributors, which are known as vertical understandings. The Competition Council is currently performing several investigations in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as a sectoral investigation aimed at rendering an in-depth analysis of the entire industry in order to identify and correct the main dysfunctions impeding on fair competition, the press release further indicates.