Spain Fines Merck $38 Million for Anticompetitive Practices

Spain has fined Merck Sharp & Dohme $38.45 million for alleged anticompetitive practices that blocked Insud Pharma from marketing hormonal vaginal contraceptive rings.

Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission said Merck had a monopoly from 2002 to 2018 with its NuvaRing (ethinylestradiol/etonogestrel) device and had filed unfounded lawsuits to fend off a competitor.

In 2017, Merck accused Insud of violating a patent for NuvaRing and halted production of Insud’s Ornibel vaginal rings.