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Pharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on innovation and intellectual property and it is an industry that frequently deals with competition issues.  

In recent years, there have been concerns about pharma companies using their market power to charge excessive prices, pay other companies to delay their entry into a market, and buy companies to avoid them becoming a competitive threat. Our lawyers have been involved in all of these issues. 

Who we work with 

Our team advises pharmaceutical companies, both large and small. We can also represent individual members of staff of a company involved in a competition law investigation. 

Our experience 

  • We have unparalleled expertise from both the regulator side and the private sector side. Our former regulators have led some of the industry’s defining cases involving market sharing, excessive pricing and pay-for-delay infringements. We can bring this insight when advising companies on regulators’ likely reaction to conduct. 
  • We have led dawn raids on behalf of competition authorities, and been involved in some of the leading cases and appeals on procedural issues, including successfully defending the CMA in the High Court and Court of Appeal in the first ever challenge against a judicial warrant to enter business premises. 
  • We have achieved a multi-million pound settlement for a customer who was the victim of a competition law infringement. 
  • We have conducted many compulsory interviews with company directors and acted for clients subject to inspections by the European CommissionWe design informative and engaging competition law compliance programmes, drawing on our experience as former regulators to bring the training to life.  
  • We write extensively on the pharma industry, including via the firm’s The Thicket blog.  
  • We design informative and engaging competition law compliance programmes, drawing on our experience as former regulators to bring the training to life. 

How we can help 

We can help you to ensure that you comply with competition law, defend you when under investigation, or object to competition law violations by others. We can help to guide you through the merger control process for your acquisition or joint venture.  

We can bring damages litigation on your behalf, or defend you in litigation brought by others. 

Our Team 

We are leading competition lawyers who are experienced in these issues on both the private and public sector side. 

Contact

Stijn Huijts

(+32) 4 7124 5769