EC accuses Teva of anti-competitive actions

The European Commission has informed Israeli generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE: TEVA) of its preliminary view that an agreement concluded with Cephalon was in breach of European Union antitrust rules.

Under the agreement, Teva committed not to market a cheaper generic version of Cephalon's drug for sleep disorders, Provigil (modafinil). Teva acquired Cephalon in October 2011.

Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner in charge of competition policy, said: "Market entry and competition by generic drugs is an essential element to improve the affordability of healthcare. In this case, our preliminary finding is that Teva and Cephalon broke EU antitrust rules by agreeing on Cephalon paying Teva to keep its cheaper generic version of Cephalon's sleep disorder drug modafinil out of the market. It's now up to the companies to respond to our concerns."