In a much-anticipated ruling of 3 September 2024, the EU's highest court threw out the policy that the European Commission has been pursuing since 2021, by which it asserted jurisdiction to review so-called “killer...more
Le 27 juin 2024, le laboratoire pharmaceutique Servier – qui, entre 2005 et 2007, avait conclu plusieurs accords transactionnels en matière de brevets impliquant des paiements inversés avec des génériqueurs (Niche/Unichem,...more
The ECJ confirms its intolerance against conduct that is viewed as originator companies buying off competition from generic companies about to enter the market and thereby unduly prolonging their monopoly. Such conduct, which...more
The Administrative Supreme Court upholds decisions restricting the prescription of a treatment against osteoporosis.
Upon the assessment of a follow-up study, the French National Authority for Health (“HAS”) recommended...more
On 12 October the Digital Markets Act (DMA)1 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The DMA will enter into force on 1 November 2022 and will apply as of 2 May 2023. The DMA introduces European-wide ex...more
10/26/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sanctions
Following a Phase II investigation, the European Commission (the “Commission”) on 6 September 2022 prohibited the acquisition of Grail by Illumina, on the basis that the merger would stifle innovation in the emerging market...more
In a recent high-profile judgment, the EU’s General Court confirmed that the European Commission (“EC”) can, upon referral by a national competition authority in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), review deals that do not...more
On 10 May 2022, the European Commission (the “Commission”) adopted the final version of the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”), which will enter into force on 1 June 2022. The new VBER, which replaces Regulation...more
Key takeaways - The European Commission (EC) recently issued guidance encouraging Member States to make use of the option, foreseen in the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), to request the EC to review transactions that do not meet...more
The European Court of Justice has confirmed that financial investors can incur parental liability for the anticompetitive practices of portfolio companies, even after an IPO that left the investor holding only a minority...more
On 9 September 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) issued an infringement decision sanctioning Novartis and Roche with record fines for the pharmaceutical sector in France, totaling 444 million euros, for having...more
1/28/2021
/ Biotechnology ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
France ,
French Competition Authority ,
Genentech ,
Infringement ,
Life Sciences ,
Novartis ,
Off-Label Use ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
In three recent judgments issued on 5 October 2020, the General Court of the European Union ("GCEU") partially annulled the European Commission’s ("Commission") decisions of February 2017 which had authorized onsite...more
10/22/2020
/ Annulment ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dawn Raids ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Exchange of Information ,
France ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
Lack of Authority ,
Standard of Proof ,
Supermarkets
Relaxation of antitrust rules to avoid shortages of supply. On 23 March 2020, the European Competition Network (ECN) issued a statement acknowledging that the current situation “may trigger the need for companies to cooperate...more
4/3/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Collaboration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Commission ,
European Competition Network (ECN) ,
Medical Supplies ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures ,
Supply Chain ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed how merger enforcement regimes around the world are currently reviewing proposed transactions. Two weeks into the new environment, we now have a body of experience from which to assess...more
4/1/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
United States
On 12 December 2018, the General Court (“Court”) partially annulled the European Commission’s decision of 9 July 2014 in the Servier case and consequently reduced Servier’s fine by more than 30%, from €330.99 million to...more
12/21/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Annulment ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Patent Office ,
Fee Reductions ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
Generic Drugs ,
IP License ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The General Court of the European Union recently held, in Goldman Sachs v. Commission, that purely financial investors such as investment funds may be held jointly and severally liable for competition law violations...more
9/25/2018
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Cartels ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Adviser ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Market-Sharing ,
Parent Corporation ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Subsidiaries
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) recently published its infringement decision of 7 December 2016 that imposed a fine on Pfizer and Flynn Pharma (“Flynn”) for abusing their respective dominant positions by...more
9/22/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Cancer ,
Drug Pricing ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Fines ,
Infringement ,
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ,
National Health Service Corp (NHSC) ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has quashed a ruling by the EU’s General Court which had upheld the European Commission’s (EC) 2009 finding of abuse of dominance by Intel Corporation Inc. Intel was fined...more
9/8/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Competition ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Jurisdiction ,
Manufacturers ,
OEM ,
Pricing ,
Rebates ,
Set-Asides ,
Standard of Review ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The European Commission (“Commission”) announced on May 18, 2017, that it was fining Facebook €110 million for providing misleading or incorrect information during the review of the social network’s acquisition of WhatsApp in...more