UK's Crackdown On Anti-Competitive Deals Continues; Actavis In Firing Line Again

The UK's competition authority is keen to expose supposed pay-for-delay deals made by pharmaceutical firms, and is warning drug suppliers to think twice before attempting agreements that slow the entry of generic products onto the UK market.

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UK competition authority continues to dismantal 'pay-for-delay' cases • Source: Shutterstock

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is once again cracking down on Actavis UK, this time alleging that the company signed illegal agreements with Concordia International Corp. that enabled Actavis's price hikes for generic hydrocortisone tablets to be prolonged in the UK. Over the last year, the CMA has fined Actavis once for its part in an anti-competitive deal with GlaxoSmithKline PLC and launched two investigations into its conduct in the UK.

In a March 3 statement, the CMA says a pay-for-delay agreement between Actavis and Concordia, which has spanned...

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