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Topic: Pharmaceuticals

Growing EU and UK Regulatory Interest in Alleged Excessive Pricing

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

Despite a historical reluctance to intervene when it comes to excessive pricing, the pharma sector is seeing increasing regulatory interest in such practices in the European Union and United Kingdom. Several key decisions highlight the authorities’ methodology when it comes to identifying excessiveness and unfairness in pharmaceutical pricing.

20 October 2023

Recent Developments in the Analysis of Life Sciences Mergers

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

The Multilateral Pharmaceutical Merger Task Force was created to update approaches to analysing the effects of pharmaceutical mergers, including the factors to be considered, sufficiency of existing theories of harm and legal standards. Following its creation, there have been significant developments in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific region.

20 October 2023

An Economist’s Perspective on Exploitative Abuse of Dominant Position and Excluding Competitors

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

Excessive pricing, excluding actual or potential competitors via rebates, and discounts or killer acquisitions are crucial competition issues making waves in the pharmaceutical sector.

20 October 2023

United Kingdom: key jurisdiction for compliance amid post-Brexit regulatory divergence

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

The UK Competition and Markets Authority and courts are now beginning to diverge from EU case law following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, including on rules applying to vertical agreements.

20 October 2023

Switzerland: Regulatory Changes and Mutual Market Access Problems with European Union set to Alter Competitive Environment

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

While the life sciences space has not yet raised major competition law issues in Switzerland it remains to be seen whether impending merger control reform will alter the competitive landscape for the sector.

20 October 2023

United States: Trends of Agency Scrutiny on Pharmaceutical Transactions Expected to Shift Amid Rise in Deal Activity

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

Current FTC activity is focusing on transactions involving commercial-stage assets and other conduct affecting cost of therapeutics. US antitrust agencies have also released draft merger guidelines that incorporate theories of harm related to potential competition and conglomerate effects.

20 October 2023

Italy: Antitrust Pioneer Continues to Break Ground on Theories of Harm

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

Italy is a frontrunner when it comes to enforcement of antitrust law in the pharma space. AGCM efforts are expected to continue to focus on life sciences companies and it is anticipated that an increasing focus will be placed on public procurement and follow-up actions for damages before civil courts following recent decisions.

20 October 2023

European Union: Commission Intensifies Merger Review Focus on Pipeline Products and Pay-for-Delay Cases in the Spotlight

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

The life sciences sector is a key area of concern for the European Commission. It is further tightening its grip on companies in the space, increasing its scrutiny and expanding its enforcement drive to merger review.

20 October 2023

A Practitioner’s Perspective on Cooperative Agreements in Europe

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

The pandemic was a fresh opportunity for actors across the pharma supply chain to demonstrate the benefits of swift and flexible cooperation. In the wake of covid-19, the pharma industry is facing increased pressure to broaden access to and ensure affordability of new medicines.

20 October 2023

An Economic Outlook on Biosimilar Competition in Europe

Featured in The Guide to Life Sciences - Second Edition

Concerns are swirling around the effectiveness of biosimilar competition and whether savings can be achieved faster by health systems. It is thus crucial to analyse, from an economic perspective, how biosimilars affect competitive dynamics, recent European antitrust investigations and their implications when pricing biologicals.

20 October 2023