EC to appeal CFI decision on Bayer's Adalat parallel importing

The European Commission has launched an appeal with the European Courtof Justice against the October 26, 2000, judgement on Bayer's Adalat (nifedipine) by the Court of First Instance (case T-41/96), which overturned an EC decision that Bayer and its wholesalers in France and Spain had entered into "concerted agreements" to prevent lower-priced imports of the drug into the UK (Marketletter November 13).

The appeal was welcomed by the European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies (which represents parallel distributors), whose president, Erik Pfeiffer, said "we feel confident that the ECJ will evaluate the evidence presented in a way that will lead to a victory for the Commission." He added that the EAEPC "stands ready to assist the Commission in any way possible to lend more weight to its arguments."

In annulling a 1996 Commission decision penalizing Bayer 3 million euros ($2.8 million) for trying to prevent parallel trade of Adalat into the UK by limiting deliveries to wholesalers in the supplying countries, the CFI has said it found no evidence of a bilateral agreement between the manufacturer and its Spanish and French wholesalers, as prohibited by Article 81 (formerly Article 85) of the Treaty of Rome.