The two laboratories had been sanctioned in 2020 by the competition authority for “abusive practices” aimed at preserving the sales of a drug widely prescribed in ophthalmology.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
A record sanction of more than 400 million euros pronounced against the Swiss laboratories Novartis and Roche by the Competition Authority was canceled by the Paris Court of Appeal, she announced Thursday, February 16 . The two laboratories had been sanctioned in 2020 by the Competition Authority for “abusive practices” aimed at preserving the sales of a drug widely prescribed in ophthalmology, to the detriment of another thirty times cheaper.
This medication, the Lucentis, developed by the American Genentech and marketed outside the United States by Novartis, is used to treat macular degeneration (DMLA), the main cause of visually impaired in the most fifty years in industrialized countries .
Doctors realized that another Genentech medication, the anti -cancer Avastin, had positive effects on the AMD and began to prescribe it although he has no authorization to start on The market for this disease (AMM issued by health authorities at the demand of laboratories). However, the Avastin – marketed by the Swiss Roche outside the United States – has a cost 30 times lower than the Lucentis.
The Competition Authority had considered that to preserve their interests, the three laboratories had agreed to denigrate the use of Avastin in ophthalmology, both with health professionals and public authorities.
“No eviction behavior”
Novartis, to whom he was accused of having conducted a communication campaign to discredit the use of Avastin in ophthalmology between 2008 and 2013, had collected the strongest sanction, 385 million euros. Roche and Genentech had jointly received a sanction of more than 59 million euros.
In reverse of the Competition Authority, the Paris Court of Appeal considered that from 2011 and the entry into force of new legislation, Avastin was to be considered outside the market for Treatment of DMLA. Justice has deduced “that no eviction behavior” could be criticized for a period when Avastin and the Lucentis “could be validly competed”.
Furthermore, she considered that the communication of the Novartis group, during the restrained period, had been “measured in her tone” and had not been denigrating, and that of the Novartis and Roche groups “did not have been alarmist or even misleading “.
Finally, she considered that the rocking behavior by rock which had refused to provide avastin samples requested by the health authorities to launch a scientific study could not have an anti -competitive effect.