ECJ DECISION HELPS TO ENSURE PATIENT ACCESS TO GENERIC MEDICINES

The European Generic medicines Association has welcomed the Decision from the European Court of Justice, which has endorsed the European Commission’s findings that Astra Zeneca abused its dominant position in the market for proton pump inhibitors. The Court confirmed there was clear evidence of anti-competitive activity, through misuse of the patent and regulatory systems, in order to delay the entry of generic Omeprazol, the active ingredient in the company’s blockbuster drug, Losec.

"This case is about the misuse of regulatory procedures which has the effect of blocking or delaying entry to the market of cheaper medicines, mainly by creating hurdles for generic products well beyond the period of protection granted by the legislator. Pharmaceutical companies are afforded legal protection for the innovative drugs they bring to the market. This is justified as it rewards innovation and generates revenues for further research in the sector. But companies should not misuse the patent system and the system for authorisation of medicines to extend the protection of their blockbuster products and delay the entry of generics into the market. Generic drugs benefit patients and governments that pay for medicines. I am determined to use competition rules whenever appropriate to fight such unfair and anticompetitive practices," Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice President in charge of Competition Policy, July 2010. 

- More information on the AstraZeneca case is available under: http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2010-07/cp100067en.pdf