Big pharma group investigated for trying to remove cheaper cancer drug from Romanian market

Romania’s Competition Council has started two investigations on a possible abuse of dominant position by Roche Romania in the local cancer drug market, including the exclusion from the market of the generic, cheaper variant of the Tarceva innovative drug. Roche Romania is suspected of having sold to its distributors products at higher wholesale prices than the direct prices offered by Roche Romania, when it came to tenders organized by hospitals for the purchase of drugs. The second investigation analyzes whether Roche Romania has tried to remove from the market the generic version, which is also cheaper, of the innovative drug Tarceva. Tarceva, a drug produced by Roche, contains Erlotinib the active substance and is used to treat cancer. It is included in the list of medicines reimbursed by the state. The Competition Council has found during an investigation completed this year that generic drugs, although cheaper than their innovative variants, fail to capture a significant market share. editor@romania-insider.com