EU Court of Justice dismisses AstraZeneca appeal on patent settlement

The European Union’s highest court, the Court of Justice, yesterday dismissed the appeal of Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) regarding a fine of 52.5 million euros ($68.3 million; reduced from 60 million euros) imposed on the company for two alleged abuses of a dominant market position relating to blocking or delaying generic copies of the firm’s blockbuster anti-ulcerant drug Losec (omeprazole), in a case that goes back to 2005 (The Pharma Letter July 2, 2010).

Refusing the company’s appeal is a strong endorsement of the European Commission’s tough stance on tactics used by drugmakers seeing to stop cheaper generics coming to the market, a position that is equally strongly held by the US Federal Trade Commission. The judgement was welcomed by the Commission, which said that, in particular, it confirms that misuses of regulatory procedures can in certain circumstances constitute abuses of a dominant position within the meaning of EU antitrust rules (Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The judgment also confirms the Commission's method to define the relevant product market and existence of a dominant position in the pharmaceutical sector.

In an e-mailed statement to TPL, AstraZeneca said it “is disappointed with the Court of Justice’s decision that AZ’s appeal should be dismissed. AZ takes compliance with all laws seriously and has a fundamental commitment to doing business in an ethical and proper manner.”