French crackdown on parallel drugs trade

Article reports that the French government is planning to push introduce proposals in the autumn of 2009 for a dual pricing system for medicines designed to clamp down on the lucrative export of drugs to other European countries.

It is one of several measures designed to strengthen the position of France’s pharmaceutical industry, including new funding for biotech companies and improved co-ordination to foster greater research and development.

The action could spark fresh legal challenges, following a series of European judgments pitting parallel traders against pharmaceutical companies trying to operate a range of systems to thwart the practice.

ESO: Background information: Proposed controls threaten EU drug trade http://www.europeansources.info/record/proposed-controls-threaten-eu-drug-trade/

European Commission: DG Enterprise and Industry: Pharmaceuticals http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/index_en.htm

European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies http://www.eaepc.org/

EAEPC: Press Release, 6.10.09: EC Court rules dual-pricing is anti-competitive http://www.eaepc.org/admin/files/091006_eaepc_press_release_-_ecj_ruling_gsk_spain.pdf

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