EU FINDS ASTRAZENECA INFLATED LOSEC PRICE

The European Union (EU) has fined AstraZeneca $73 million for artificially inflating the price of its ulcer treatment Losec and misusing the EU's patent system to delay entry of generic competition for the drug.

The European Commission's (EC) Competition Commission, which levied the fine, determined that, between 1993 and 2000, AstraZeneca infringed EC and European Economic Area (EEA) competition rules by blocking or delaying market access to generic versions of Losec (omeprazole) and preventing parallel imports of the drug. The actions helped AstraZeneca maintain high prices for Losec, which, at the time, was one of the world's most profitable drugs. Global sales of Losec totaled roughly $4.6 billion in 2002.

AstraZeneca provided misleading information to several national patent offices in the EEA resulting in AstraZeneca gaining extended patent protection for Losec through so-called supplementary protection certificates, the EC said. As a result of the misleading information, the patent offices had to rely on misleading information to consider whether the product was innovative.

AstraZeneca, meanwhile, contends it acted in good faith and never provided misleading information to EU patent regulators. "AstraZeneca has not made misrepresentations or behaved inappropriately," said Tom McKillop, the company's chief executive. "We believe that a proper evaluation on appeal of all the facts and legal positions will confirm that the commission's analysis is fundamentally flawed."