Romanian Competition Authority Fines Boehringer-Ingelheim on Account of Product Hopping
- 13/01/2025
- News
The Romanian competition authority (RCA) announced today that it imposed a fine of EUR 25.81 million on Boehringer-Ingelheim (BI) on account of product hopping on the Romanian market for the medicinal treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (known as COPD). BI was found to have abused its dominant position on that market.
BI allegedly convinced physicians no longer to consider prescribing its specialty Spiriva® or any of the generic alternatives based on the active substance tiotropium bromide for alleviating the symptoms of COPD patients, but rather its more recent product Spiolto Respimat®, a combination of tiotropium and olodaterol. Spiolto Respimat® still forms the subject of patent protection and has no generic alternatives.
According to the RCA, BI's campaign for a wholesale replacement of Spiriva® by the more expensive Spiolto Respimat® had no therapeutic justification, caused patients to pay more for their medication, and resulted in increased spending on COPD medication by the public purse (the governmental payor funds both medicines for 50%, while patients make a 50% co-payment).
It will be necessary to read the RCA’s full decision to understand the nature of BI’s communications with physicians; the reasons for the RCA’s position that a complete substitution of BI’s older product with the more recent one was not justified; and the explanation why these facts allowed the RCA to qualify BI’s conduct as an abuse of dominant position.
The RCA noted that it had started the case against BI based on reports received on its competition whistleblower platform.
