Romania's Competition Council slaps EUR 2.5 mln fine on pharmaceutical group GSK

Romania’s Competition Council sanctioned the local subsidiary of British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) with a RON 11.9 million (EUR 2.5 mln) fine.

The competition authority said that GSK didn’t meet some of the obligations assumed in a previous investigation for abuse of dominant position.

The Competition Council closed in 2017 an investigation on an abuse of dominant position by GSK, after the company committed to supplying the medicines Avodart and Seretide in sufficient quantities to cover the demand on the local market, for a period of two years. However, the Competition Council found that the company didn’t fully meet its commitments and stopped selling three versions of the drug Seretide before the two-year deadline. Thus, the drug was removed from the list of medicines compensated by the National Health Insurance House (CNAS).

Seretide is used in treating asthma and other pulmonary diseases.

GSK is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies active in Romania. In 2019, it recorded a turnover of RON 460 mln (EUR 96 mln) and a net profit of RON 15.8 mln (EUR 3.3 mln), according to official data from the Finance Ministry.

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