The European Union is fining pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Johnson & Johnson a total of 16 million euros ($22 million) for delaying the launch of a generic painkiller in the Netherlands, the bloc’s executive announced on Tuesday.
The drug in question is a cheaper version of Fentanyl, a painkiller that is 100 times more potent than morphine and is notably used by cancer patients, according to the European Commission.
“The two companies shockingly deprived patients in the Netherlands, including people suffering from cancer, from access to a cheaper version of this medicine,” said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
US-based Johnson & Johnson is being fined almost 10.8 million euros, with the remainder of the penalty going to Swiss firm Novartis.
In January the commission began investigating a 2005 deal signed between a subsidiary of J&J selling the painkiller Fentanyl in the Netherlands and rival generic manufacturer Sandoz, a subsidiary of Novartis.
Under the agreement, which ended in December 2006, Sandoz received money for every month that it did not launch a Dutch generic alternative to Fentanyl, according to the commission.
The EU’s competition watchdog cited internal documents on Tuesday according to which Sandoz said it would abstain from entering the Dutch market in exchange for “a part of [the] cake.” Instead of competing, the pharmaceuticals agreed on cooperation so as “not to have a... generic on the market and in that way to keep the high current price,” the commission added in a statement, citing the internal documents.
“Today’s decision should make pharmaceutical companies think twice before engaging into such anti-competitive practices, which harm both patients and taxpayers,” Almunia said.
The commission launched similar probes last year, as part of a sector-wide investigation, alleging that a generic anti-depressant medicine and a cardio-vascular drug were both withheld from the market under so-called “pay for delay” agreements.