Aspen to appeal Italian Competition Authority fine for alleged excessive price hikes

19 October 2016

The Italian subsidiary of South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare has challenged the findings of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) of an alleged antitrust violation by Aspen and its related group companies.

It is important to note that drug prices in Europe are negotiated with the applicable price regulator in the country concerned. Italy is no exception. The finding relates to the price increases of four neoplastic blood diseases drugs approved in Italy in 2013. These drugs had not been subjected to any price increases in Italy for more than 50 years prior to the price increase in question. Reference to the percentage price increases is misleading given the exceptionally low base prices, the company stated.

Aspen says it is an active supporter of the Italian Health System through initiatives such as its undertaking to continue supplying the corticosteroid drug, Florinef, free of charge to allow access to a drug which is not registered in Italy.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK