Application of EU Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector

This survey article reviews the major EU competition law developments in the pharmaceutical sector from 1 July 2014 through 31 October 2015 as well as decisions that were adopted earlier but only published during the period. The European Commission did not adopt any decisions dealing with the pharmaceutical sector during this period, but published its decisions in Lundbeck, Servier and J&J/Novartis, which are a rich source of information on how the Commission approaches IP, regulatory and commercial strategies that delay generic entry. National competition authorities continue to be active, notably in the area of pricing and distribution/parallel trade.