Faus & Moliner participates at the Seminar on practical issues of competition Law in the pharmaceutical sector organized by CEFI

The application of competition law to activities of the pharmaceutical sector raises specific challenges derived from special characteristics of this market.

In this Seminar organized by CEFI, Jordi Faus has discussed about the impact of this regulation with regard to offers, discounts and other commercial practices in the retail and hospital market.

In the retail area, the possibility of offering discounts is established in the Law on Guarantees and Rational Use of Medicinal Products, and it is subject to the fact that the purchase of a product before a competing one is not encouraged. Jordi Faus understands that this legal provision can be interpreted in the sense that offers made to pharmacies cannot include agreements of exclusive purchasing.

In the hospital field, Jordi Faus has explained the difficulty to define relevant product market. In this regard, he thinks that the position adopted by the contracting body when defining the purpose of the contract in its specifications is an element that must be taken into account. This is a critical matter since the definition of the relevant product market is key for analyzing whether a company has a dominant position or not.

In his presentation, Jordi Faus has exposed some practical ideas to be considered in connection with joint offers (tying, bundling and crossed discounts), discounts that can be considered as predatory and loyalty discounts.