PRESS RELEASE

ANTITRUST AUTHORITY DECIDES TO BLACKOUT TWO WEBSITES FOR THE ONLINE SALE OF MEDICINES

An intervention to protect the health of consumers, decided following a joint report of Aifa-Nas, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economic Development. The Authority to work together with the Financial Police to prevent access to two internet sites that illegally offer Italian consumers the sale of medicinal products

The Antitrust Authority, with a pre-trial injunction, decided to block access to two online websites that are interconnected and illegally offering Italian consumers the sales of drugs without a prescription, despite the fact that these medicinal products require a prescription, thus putting the health of consumers at risk. The Antitrust offices, in collaboration with the Special Market Protection Unit of the Financial Police are working to ensure the blocking of the connections to the two websites from the entire national territory to prevent the continuation of the commercial practice from causing serious and irreparable damage to consumers.

The measure was adopted in light of a joint report by Aifa (Italian Pharmaceutical Agency) and Nas (Commodities and Health Units of the Carabinieri Force) within the framework of a broader collaboration between the Ministries of Health and Economic Development and on the basis of additional information collected automatically from the Antitrust investigation in collaboration with the Special Unit of the Financial Police. The report denounced the English language internet sits www.viagra-cialis-levitra.it   which offers male impotence medications and automatically redirected consumers to the internet site www.bestgenericdrugs.net to make the payment for the order: moreover this second site offered medications of all kinds, from antidepressants to medicinal products against obesity. The Italian website owner is an individual residing in the Netherlands who is also the owner of the internet site www.bestgenericdrugs.net. The two sites offered the chance to buy prescription drugs without needing a prescription, by suggesting, contrary to the truth, not only that the online sale of these medications is legal in Italy, but also that medical supervision is not necessary, thus putting at risk the health of consumers. In fact, in Italy the online sale of any type of medication is prohibited, because the law requires the physical presence of the pharmacist and, in the case of ethical medications, also a specific prescription.

Rome, 19 June 2012