Article 102

Market definition is integral to a competition authority’s ability to sanction anti-competitive practices under Article 102 TFEU.  If the market is defined narrowly, a company is more likely to have a dominant position and thus is more likely to face increased scrutiny of its commercial strategies.  In the pharmaceutical sector, recent developments indicate that originators face a heightened risk that competition authorities will take a narrow approach when defining the relevant market. 
Continue Reading Market Definition in the Pharmaceutical Sector: Incentives in Article 102 Cases

Originally published as Covington E-Alert on December 10, 2012

On 6 December 2012, the EU Court of Justice dismissed AstraZeneca’s appeal of the General Court’s judgment in AstraZeneca v Commission. The Court of Justice affirmed the reasoning and holdings of the General Court and rejected all of AstraZeneca’s arguments, including its challenge to the General…

Article originally published in Covington E-Alert, 10 December 2012

On 6 December 2012, the EU Court of Justice dismissed AstraZeneca’s appeal of the General Court’s judgment in AstraZeneca v Commission. The Court of Justice affirmed the reasoning and holdings of the General Court and rejected all of AstraZeneca’s arguments, including its challenge to the General…

Originally published as Covington E-Alert on May 17, 2012

On 15 May 2012, the Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice issued his opinion on the appeal of the General Court’s judgment in AstraZeneca v. Commission.1 The Advocate General largely agreed with the reasoning and holdings of the General Court, and recommended that the…

Article originally published in Concurrences, N° 3-2009 (September 2009)

PROCEED WITH CAUTION ACROSS THE IP/COMPETITION INTERSECTION

DG Competition’s release of its long-awaited Final Report on its Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry on 8 July 2009 was somewhat of a damp squib compared to the fireworks surrounding the publication of its Interim Report some eight months earlier. The…

Article originally published in the Cross-border Life Sciences Handbook 2006/07

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are turning with increasing frequency to in-licensing and collaboration agreements – pharmaceutical companies to put new products in their pipelines and biotech companies to access the resources needed for final-stage development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and distribution. One result of the increasing…