A French pharmaceutical company loses its court battle against an EU fine

French pharmaceutical company Servier has lost its appeal against a heavy EU fine for delaying the market entry of generic versions of its best-selling blood pressure drug, perindopril. The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld a decision to fine Servier and several generic drug makers for their ‘pay-for-late’ agreements, reported Reuters.

The European Commission initially fined Servier €331 million ($354 million) in 2014 along with other pharmaceutical companies including Teva, Unichem and its subsidiary Niche, Matrix (now known as Mylan Laboratories), Krka and Lupin . These fines were imposed in response to agreements entered into between 2005 and 2007 that antitrust regulators said were intended to exclude cheaper generic drugs from the market.

In 2018, a lower tribunal reduced the fine imposed on Servier to 228 million euros, citing errors in the analysis by EU regulators. However, both Servier and the EU competition watchdog appealed against the decision. The latest ruling by Europe’s highest court confirmed the Commission’s original position.

“The court dismissed the appeals of Lupine, Niche Generics, Unichem Laboratories, Matrix, Teva and Biogaran. It thus confirms the judgments of the Court, which ruled that the agreements concluded by Servier and Biogaran constitute market exclusion agreements and restrict competition,” the judges said.

These companies remain liable for the fines imposed by the Commission. The European Commission has accused Servier of trying to protect its perindopril product from competition on the EU market. In its defense, the pharmaceutical industry argued that such pay-for-delay agreements were a way to avoid lengthy and costly legal proceedings.

Source: Reuters