Is BD Running a Monopoly on the Safety Syringe Market?

A group of healthcare providers is calling foul on BD, accusing the company of abusing its "extraordinary market power to require the use of oppressive, anti-competitive contracts that effectively force above-competitive prices on the market." The group filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois against BD (Becton Dickinson), its distributors, and group purchasing organizations (GPOs). Premier Inc., Vizient, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, and Henry Schein are among the named defendants. According to the lawsuit, BD has monopolized the U.S. safety syringe market. The wording of the complaint suggests that the underlying problem is the U.S. purchasing system for medical devices. "Purchasing those medical devices and supplies is not like buying consumer goods, where a person can simply walk into a store or click on Amazon to compare prices," the group said in the complaint. "Rather, a purchase must occur via a web of manufacturers, distributors, and group purchasing organizations ... that use interrelated contracts to drive up costs for healthcare providers." The lawsuit explains the typical steps a healthcare provider goes through to buy medical devices. First, the provider becomes a member of a GPO that negotiates prices with manufacturers. Then the provider has to go through the manufacturer's distributor to buy the devices. "Defendants have exploited that network of contracts to enter into a vertical conspiracy to restrain trade in the nationwide ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news