Chile: FNE accuses Pfizer partner of abusing position

Chile’s competition prosecutor, the FNE, has requested its counterpart, the Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) to penalize pharmaceutical lab GD Searle LLC with the highest possible amount allowed by the country’s antitrust laws. The prosecutors have determined that Searle, has repeatedly blocked and hampered the arrival of new competitors to their CELEBRA drug brand (sold in partnership with Pfizer Chile SA), affecting other products with the active ingredient Celecoxib.

The prosecution’s investigation, dating back to 2015, determined that Searle LLC had held a patent granting it exclusive rights to the use of the Celecoxib active ingredient until 2014. It was during this same year that Searle sought a second patent to protect CELEBRA and other Celecoxib medications with the molecule, extending this protection to the year 2029, despite not representing any palpable innovation.

Celecoxib is used in the treatment of chronic illness, affecting mostly the elderly who are often required to consume the medication daily, over long periods of time and at great monetary cost. In this sense, Prosecutor Felipe Irarrázabal declared that “the discussion regarding this problem will not stop at the legislation of industrial property, as this law should be made compatible with competition law in order for definitive benefits to be felt by consumers, especially once an initial monopoly granted by the state has expired.”

Full Content: FNE

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