A PYMNTS Company

Australia: Regulator to take GSK, Novartis to court

By  |  December 6, 2017

Australia’s competition watchdog is to take local units of GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis to court over alleged false or misleading marketing of pain relief gels.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking action against GlaxoSmithKline Healthcare Australia and Novartis Consumer Health Australasia over what it claims are “false or misleading representations in the marketing of Voltaren Osteo Gel and Voltaren Emulgel pain relief products.”

The ACCC alleges that the companies marketed Osteo Gel as specifically formulated for treating osteoarthritis conditions and more effective than Emulgel, when the products had identical formulations. The watchdog found Osteo Gel was “sold at a significant price premium to Emulgel” in supermarkets and pharmacies.

The move by the ACCC comes after British consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser was fined a record AU$6 million (US$4.5 million) by an Australian court in late 2016 for misleading consumers over the painkilling effects of Nurofen.

Full Content: Business Insider

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.