PRESS RELEASE

DRUGS ON LINE: ANTITRUST APPLIES SANCTIONS TO SITES THAT HAD PROMOTED ON THE WEB THE ILLEGAL PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION. FINES TOTAL 500,000 EUROS

During the proceedings, some sites had individually suspended the publication of misleading information while others were adjusted only after the preliminary injunction decided by the Authority for the protection of consumers.

Penalties totalling 500,000 euros on two companies and a one-man business, which had spread misleading information on the legality of the online sale of drugs without the intervention of a pharmacist and, in the case of the so-called ethical drugs, without prior consultation and a medical prescription. This was decided by the Antitrust, which fined the British company Hexpress Ltd, the Italian company Web Pharmacy Rx and Mr. Giuseppe Pellegrino with sanctions amounting to 250,000, 200,000 and 50,000 euros respectively.

The measure was adopted as a result of a procedure, started in the light of a joint report by the technical committee on illegal pharmacies consisting of AIFA, Nas, Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Health and by the reports of the Guardia di Finanza - Special Market Protection Unit, Federfarma, Italian Pharmacists Federation, against a set of sites: in addition to 121doc.net, it.121doc.net and 121doc.it, which are owned by the Hexpress Ltd, also the sites www.anagen.net (owned by Giuseppe Pellegrino) and www.webpharmacy.biz, of the homonymous company.

In particular, the site www.anagen.net was a bridge site to the British sites and to the Webpharmacy site which marketed generic drugs subject to medical prescription. All sites under investigation appeared to lead the Italian consumer to consider as lawful, contrary to the truth, the buying of drugs online. Always with a view to convey the idea of ​​the possible purchase of drugs online, Hexpress had also carried out a media campaign "Your online drugstore" in newspapers of national circulation in order to promote their business.

In fact, at present, in Italy the online sale of all medicines is not permitted, as the law always requires the necessary physical mediation of a pharmacist and, for some drugs, the prior medical prescription. During the procedure, it has been adopted a suspension provision related only to the sites of Hexpress Ltd because, in the meantime, the website www.anagen.net had removed all the information relating to the promotion of drugs and removed the links to the two pharmacies on line and, since 11 September 2013, the Webpharmacy site was not accessible any more.

According to the Antitrust, the online sale of prescription-only medicines exposes to serious health risks a potentially growing number of consumers who are being induced to purchase prescription-only drugs (mainly those for sexual dysfunction) without medical supervision. In addition, medicines sent to Italian consumers were accompanied by a package leaflet, which reported in the English language all contraindications, dosage and side effects: this is contrary to the legal obligation currently in force which is that medicines sold to the public in Italy must bear this information in Italian.

Rome, 5 March 2014