Lundbeck Faces 'Sizeable' Fine Over Pay-To-Delay Deals In Europe

Nearly a year after charging nine drugmakers - including Lundbeck, Merck KGgA and Ranbaxy Laboratories - with blocking the entry of generic versions of the best-selling Celexa antidepressant, the European Commission is getting ready to hand out fines, Reuters reports. Last July, the EC charged Lundbeck and its rivals struck deals that "foresaw substantial value transfers" to the generic competitors, which subsequently did not sell lower-cost versions of the antidepressant. These value transfers included direct payments from Lundbeck to the other drugmakers, well as purchases of generic Celexa stock for destruction or guaranteed profits in a distribution agreement (back story). As a result, the EC is expected to impose a “significant” fine on Lundbeck, but lesser fines on the other drugmakers when sanctions are announced later this month, the news service writes. As previously noted, Lundbeck could be fined up to 10 percent of global sales, which would amount to roughly $312 million.  "The fine for Lundbeck is expected to be significant, less so for the others," a source tells Reuters. The move comes as the EC steps up its scrutiny of drugmakers that are suspected of striking these pay-to-delay deals to block the sale of cheaper generics. As part of several investigations over the past few years, antitrust regulators have raided offices as they seek documents pertaining to so-called pay-to-delay patent deals that were struck among rivals as part of their investigations. I...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs