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Italy: Regulator fines Aspen $6 million for excessive pricing

By  |  October 17, 2016

The Italian Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (has fined Aspen over €5 million for having abused its dominant position – in violation of Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – by increasing prices of its anti-cancer drugs Alkeran, Leukeran, Purinethol and Tioguanine (thioguanine) by up to 1,500%. Aspen had previously acquired the rights to commercialise these drugs, internally referred to as the “Cosmos” drugs, from GlaxoSmithKline. Aspen achieved the price increases by adopting an aggressive negotiating strategy with the Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, including threating to stop the supply of the medicines on the Italian market. Aspen was able to achieve price increases of between 300% and 1,500% over the prior price.

In its analysis, the AGCM first defined the national markets using ATC5 classifications. In light of Aspen’s position in markets defined this narrowly, it concluded that Aspen held a dominant position on the various markets.

Full Content: The National Law Review

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