Competition Authority fines two drug wholesalers

On October 2012 the Competition Authority found that two drug wholesalers, Alkaloid Cons and DR Panovski, had submitted bids with prices that were identical up to two decimal places for the generic drugs Etoposide and Docetaxel. The authority held that the wholesalers' behaviour constituted a concerted practice (coordination of prices/offers). The authority decided that the wholesalers had concluded a prohibited agreement under Article 7(1) of the Law on the Protection of Competition (Official Gazette, 145/10 and 136/11).

The authority also imposed fines on the wholesalers - in accordance with Article 59(1)(1) of the law - as a result of the concerted practice. For tenders regarding Etoposide, Alkaloid Cons was fined approximately €3,627, while DR Panovski was fined approximately €1,888. For tenders regarding Docetaxel, Alkaloid Cons was fined approximately €385,915 and DR Panovski approximately €376,909.

For further information on this topic please contact Srdjana Petronijević at Moravčević Vojnović i Partneri in cooperation with Schoenherr by telephone (+381 11 320 26 00), fax (+381 11 320 26 10) or email (s.petronijevic@schoenherr.rs).