The European Commission (EC) reported on Tuesday that it seeks to achieve better regulatory practices in mergers in the pharmaceutical sector.

To this end, the EC created a Multilateral Working Group with the main competition authorities.

The Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Competition Bureau of Canada, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, the US Department of Justice and three Prosecutor’s Offices General launched a multilateral working group on Tuesday to analyze the effects of mergers in the pharmaceutical sector.

The task force has already been initiated by the FTC and is in line with close cooperation between national competition authorities.

Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: «An innovative and well-functioning pharmaceutical sector is essential to meeting the needs of our citizens.»

In recent years, the European Commission has taken new initiatives in scrutinizing global pharmaceutical mergers to ensure effective competition in the sector.

In addition, Vestager said that the European Commission has contributed to obtaining fair prices for medicines and has protected the development of new medicines.

Pharmaceutical sector

“I therefore warmly welcome this initiative, which brings together some of our closest partners around the world to take stock of the lessons learned in recent years and explore new ways to foster vibrant competition for the benefit of citizens,” added Vestager.

From the point of view of the European Commission, the number of mergers in the pharmaceutical sector has grown in recent years, and there is a need for close scrutiny to detect those that could lead to higher drug prices, less innovation or behavior. anti-competitive.

The joint project will build on the experience of competition authorities, as well as other stakeholders with relevant experience, to ensure the most effective enforcement in this crucial market.

Likewise, the objective of the working group is to identify concrete and feasible steps to update the analysis of pharmaceutical mergers.