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Brazil: Merck fined for pay-for-delay deal

By  |  August 12, 2014

Pharmaceutical conglomerate Merck has been issued a fine of $1.8 million by Brazilian antitrust authorities for engaging in pay-for-delay agreements.

Antitrust regulator CADE lodged the fine in response to Merck’s attendance at a meeting joined by top rivals Bayer, Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Roche and more, say reports. The meeting allowed the companies to discuss paying generic drug makers to keep their competing products off pharmacy shelves, CADE found.

CADE also said that the other pharmaceutical companies were already fined years ago.

Merck argued that there was a lack of evidence in CADE’s decision and that it didn’t even sell generic drugs in Brazil until 2 years ago, after the meeting had occurred. Merck said it may appeal the ruling.

Full content: Fierce Pharma

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