COMPETITION LAW AND PHARMA: AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

The pharmaceutical industry has been under the scrutiny of competition watchdogs. In 2009, the European Commission published the final report of its Sector Inquiry, in which it laid out a number of concerns about the state of competition. In particular, the Commission found that some practices of originator companies had the objective or effect of stifling competition, notably against generics. Since 2009, the Commission but also some National Competition Authorities have stepped up enforcement activities in this sector, justifying notably their intervention by the need to keep public health budgets under control and to maintain widespread access to affordable medicines.