Eli Lilly and others fined in Mexico for collusion on insulin pricing

US drug major Eli Lilly has been fined by Mexico's antitrust commission for price collusion, the firm disclosed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, saying that federal prosecutors and the SEC have expanded a probe into the company's compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, Bloomberg reported.

Mexico's antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday it fined Lilly and other global medical companies for colluding to inflate prices in government tenders for medicine, noted a report from Reuters. Eli Lilly Mexico and three Mexican pharmaceutical companies took turns placing winning bids in government tenders to buy insulin from 2003 to 2006, eliminating competition and ensuring artificially high prices, the antitrust commission said.

A spokeswoman for Lilly told Reuters that the company would appeal the ruling, stated that "Lilly completely denies any participation in coordinated action to fix bids with competitors."
The regulator also fined the Mexican units of Baxter International and Fresenius Kabi, controlled by German health care conglomerate Fresenius for colluding to boost prices in government tenders for intravenous solutions.