On 12 February 2026, the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) revealed that since at least September 2025 it has been pursuing several members of the supply chain for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in two distinct procedures (see, attached press release and informal English machine translation). According to the GVH, both investigations were prompted by a significant price increase of OTC medicines between 2020 and 2025.

The GVH now seeks to find out whether this pricing development was caused by business conduct that restricts competition.

Allegedly Restrictive Category Management Agreement

A first GVH investigation focuses on an arrangement between medicine wholesaler Phoenix Pharma, pharmacy chain operator Benu Magyarország (Benu), and pharmaceutical firms Haleon, Opella Healthcare, and Sanofi-Aventis. The GVH suspects that these firms agreed on ways in which specific painkillers would be displayed in pharmacies, by favouring specifc products and keeping other medicines off pharmacy shelves. The case would seem to echo the inquiry into a series of category management agreements which the Belgian Competition Authority fined in April 2025.

Allegedly Abusive Conduct

The second inquiry of the GVH concerns allegedly abusive conduct of pharmacies linked to Phoenix Pharma or Benu that have a monopoly in their catchment areas which supposedly allows them to foreclose these local markets to the detriment of other medicine wholesalers.