Joaquín Almunia, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Competition, gave a press conference on the fine imposed by the EC to Servier and five generic companies for curbing entry of cheaper versions of cardiovascular medicine. The Commission imposed fines totalling €427.7 million on the French pharmaceutical company Servier and five producers of generic medicines – namely, Niche/Unichem, Matrix (part of Mylan), Teva, Krka and Lupin – for concluding a series of deals of deals all aimed at protecting Servier's bestselling blood pressure medicine, perindopril, from price competition by generics in the EU.
Through a technology acquisition and a series of patent settlements with generic rivals, Servier implemented a strategy to exclude competitors and delay the entry of cheaper generic medicine to the detriment of public budgets and patients in breach of EU antitrust rules.