Poland Watchdog Fines Neuca in Decade-Long Drug Pricing Cartel - Regional Media News
UOKiK said the cartel lasted more than 10 years and involved four wholesalers that shared pricing data, with total fines reaching 905 million zlotys.
- On Monday, Poland's competition regulator UOKiK fined pharmaceutical wholesaler Neuca 499 million zlotys for participating in a pricing cartel lasting more than a decade, part of a total 905 million zloty penalty against four wholesalers.
- UOKiK stated wholesalers exploited pharmacy loyalty programs to access rival purchasing data, allowing them to see competitors' "prices and terms for individual pharmacies and adjust their own offers."
- The three largest groups control more than 70% of Poland's wholesale drug market; Polska Grupa Farmaceutyczna cooperated with investigators under UOKiK's leniency program and avoided financial penalties.
- Neuca shares dropped 15.6% on Monday, marking a record single-day fall, as the company stated it "disagrees entirely" with the charges and plans to appeal to Poland's Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.
- The decision is not final, and companies retain the right to appeal to court; the regulator noted the exchange rate as $1 equals 3.7921 zlotys.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Poland watchdog fines Neuca in decade-long drug pricing cartel
On Monday, shares of the Toruń-based company Neuca fell by over 13 percent. That same day, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection announced a fine of nearly half a billion złoty. The company has already announced it will appeal the UOKiK's decision to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.
For over 10 years, Poland's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers exchanged sensitive information, including drug prices, sales volumes, and commercial terms. This knowledge allowed them to limit competition and avoid price wars. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) imposed fines on four companies totaling over PLN 900 million.
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has imposed fines of over PLN 904 million on four companies associated with the largest pharmaceutical wholesalers in Poland. According to the office, for over a decade, the companies exchanged confidential information about drug prices, sales, and terms offered to pharmacies, thereby limiting competition. The effects of this arrangement were felt by pharmacies and ultima…
Poland's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers exchanged information on prices and offers for pharmacies. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) found this to be restrictive of competition and imposed fines on the companies exceeding PLN 904 million.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) imposed fines of over PLN 900 million on four pharmaceutical companies. For over 10 years, the country's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers shared information about prices and commercial terms offered to pharmacies. This limited competition and forced consumers to pay more for medications.
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