Stampa

SERVIER ITALIA-ISTITUTO FARMACO BIOLOGICO STRODER


PRESS RELEASE



PRESS RELEASE


The Authority finds two pharmaceutical companies liable for price-fixing certain drugs


At the end of an investigation that began in February 1998, the Authority has concluded that the two companies, Servier Italia and Istituto Farmaco Biologico Stroder, had made an agreement to distort competition in violation of Section 2(2) of the Competition Act by fixing the prices of a number of class C drugs, which are paid for entirely by patients. The two companies were ordered to pay fines totalling 3 billion lire.
The drugs under investigation treat obesity and related conditions, using the same active principle and marketed by each company under a different brand name on the basis of a ‘co-marketing arrangement’.
The investigation revealed that parallel price changes had been introduced as a result of an agreement which was particularly serious in this case because of the steep price increases, to the detriment of consumers, and the large market share held by both companies. Furthermore, the two companies had colluded to offer the same prices when tendering to supply hospitals and public health facilities: the documentation acquired by the Authority clearly showed that when one company was awarded contracts for lower prices than those agreed, the commercial management brought pressure to bear to ensure that it would not repeated.
The Authority also discovered an agreement to  coordinate their promotional activities to prevent any direct competition between their drugs by prescribing physicians, making it more difficult and costly for potential competitors to enter the relevant market, especially generic drug manufacturers.
In view of the gravity of the offence and the length of time it had been committed, the Authority imposed fines of 4.5% of their turnover from the sale of the drugs under investigation.
Rome, 22 July 1999