Mexican Regulator Fines Drug Distributors For Price-Fixing Medicines

The antitrust authority in Mexico fined five pharmaceutical companies for restricting the supply of medicines, fixing, manipulating and increasing the price of drugs in the Mexican market, for which they will have to pay an economic amount of 903 million 479,000 pesos, together. 

The Plenary of the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) sanctioned Casa Marzam (Marzam), Casa Saba, Fármacos Nacionales (Fanasa), Nadro and Almacén de Drogas, as well as 21 individuals who participated on their behalf, for the carrying out absolute monopolistic practices in the drug distribution market, whose damage to Mexican consumers is estimated at 2,359 million pesos. In addition, the Association of Distributors of Pharmaceutical Products of the Mexican Republic (Diprofar) was also fined for assisting in the execution of said conduct.

According to file I0-001-2016 of the antitrust investigation, the collusion practice in the drug distribution market took place over a period of almost 10 years (from June 2006 to the end of December 2016 ), affecting the constitutional right to protect the health of the population and the income of families. 

When carried out in one of the most relevant markets for the lives of Mexicans, Cofece, headed by Alejandra Palacios, argued that the damage to Mexican families was particularly for those with lower incomes, who spend approximately 24,000 million pesos in the purchase of medicines. 

Through a statement, the Commission said that during the market control period, an agreement was presented between the Drug Store, Casa Saba, Fanasa, Marzam and Nadro, with the assistance of Diprofar, not to distribute drugs in the territory during the mandatory rest days provided for in the Federal Labor Law, as well as on Good Friday and Day of the Dead.

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