The European Commission has recently fined a group of pharmaceutical companies (Alkaloids of Australia, Alkaloids Corporation, Boehringer, Linnea, TransoPharm) a total of EUR 13.4 million for participating in a cartel agreement lasting more than 14 years.

The pharmaceutical companies coordinated and agreed to fix the minimum sales price of an active pharmaceutical ingredient known as N-Butylbromide Scopolamine, allocated quotas and exchanged commercially sensitive information. This active pharmaceutical ingredient is used to produce Buscopan, a pain medication used to treat different types of pain, including gallbladder or bladder cramps.

Is it a "common" notification? Not really, as this fine holds several firsts.

The fine is the first imposed on the European level for a cartel agreement in the pharmaceutical sector. It is also the first fine imposed for a cartel agreement in relation to an active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Author: Vladěna Svobodová