The economic crisis and the growing urge of governments to cut public expenditure – particularly its heftier items, among which is pharmaceutical spending – have, in recent times, brought back on the agenda of pharmaceutical companies the issue of how to lawfully limit parallel trade of their products towards lower-price EU Member States. This objective may prove particularly hard to achieve since, from a EU competition law standpoint, parallel trade has been traditionally perceived as beneficial for consumers, as well as a force towards EU single market integration. This article aims at assessing, under a EU competition law perspective, the most common paths chosen by companies to deal with parallel trade, by relying on the (limited) case-law of EU courts and by providing a detailed and practical analysis of every available option.
The Bitter Medicine: Competition Law and Parallel Trade in the Pharmaceutical Sector / P.A. Perinetto, N. Latronico. - In: WORLD COMPETITION. - ISSN 1011-4548. - 40:1(2017 Mar), pp. 93-119.
The Bitter Medicine: Competition Law and Parallel Trade in the Pharmaceutical Sector
N. LatronicoUltimo
2017
Abstract
The economic crisis and the growing urge of governments to cut public expenditure – particularly its heftier items, among which is pharmaceutical spending – have, in recent times, brought back on the agenda of pharmaceutical companies the issue of how to lawfully limit parallel trade of their products towards lower-price EU Member States. This objective may prove particularly hard to achieve since, from a EU competition law standpoint, parallel trade has been traditionally perceived as beneficial for consumers, as well as a force towards EU single market integration. This article aims at assessing, under a EU competition law perspective, the most common paths chosen by companies to deal with parallel trade, by relying on the (limited) case-law of EU courts and by providing a detailed and practical analysis of every available option.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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