Bayer wins parallel trade case appeal

Bayer has won a legal dispute with the European Commission concerning the allegedly illegal obstruction of parallel imports associated with the distribution of the cardiovascular drug Adalat. The dispute has been ongoing since 1996.

Bayer assumed that pharmaceutical manufacturers are under no obligation to supply the entire European market from the member state with the lowest state-regulated prices for the product in question, but the European Commission imposed a fine of €3m on the company in January 1996 for allegedly having illegally prevented parallel imports of Adalat. Bayer has now won its appeal to the European Court of Justice, which has annulled the fine.

The decision has received a wholehearted welcome from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). 'This ruling is very encouraging for an industry that has especially suffered from the problems arising from parallel trade,' said Dr Trevor Jones, director general of the ABPI. 'I believe this will establish a positive way forward for innovative medicines both now and in the future, so that we can achieve a more rational trade environment in Europe.'

Parallel trade arises because prices of medicines are largely controlled by individual member states of the EU, often leading to wide variations that are not the choice of the manufacturer. Latest figures show that parallel trade costs the industry some £1.4bn a year, and that more than one in eight prescriptions in the UK are filled with a parallel-imported product.