Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions at its meeting on 29 October 2024 concerning a draft decision in case AT.40588 – Teva Copaxone – Meeting by Video Conference – via Skype for Business – Rapporteur: Romania
Date: 2024-10-29
Institutions: Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions
Subjects: EU competition policy, control of restrictive practices, disease of the nervous system, dominant position, medicinal product, sanction (EU)








C_202501681EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1681


19.3.2025






Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions at its meeting on 29 October 2024 concerning a draft decision in case AT.40588 – Teva Copaxone
Meeting by Video Conference – via ‘Skype for Business’
         
Rapporteur: Romania
(Only the English text is authentic)
(C/2025/1681)


1.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s definition of the relevant market in the draft decision as the market for glatiramer acetate in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.



2.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s assessment that Teva held a dominant position in the market for glatiramer acetate in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain in the respective time periods indicated in the draft decision.



3.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission that, as set out in the draft decision, Teva abused its dominant position on the relevant markets for glatiramer acetate in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain in violation of Article 102 TFEU, by creating multiple divisional patents with overlapping content, intentionally staggering their filings and repeatedly and strategically withdrawing them with the aim of prolonging legal uncertainty, a conduct which therefore was capable of hindering and/or delaying market entry and uptake of competing glatiramer acetate on these national markets.



4.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s assessment in the draft decision as regards the duration of Teva’s misuse of divisional patents, in violation of Article 102 TFEU, in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.



5.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission that, as set out in the draft decision, Teva abused its dominant position on the relevant markets for glatiramer acetate in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain in violation of Article 102 TFEU, by disseminating, to Payers and HCPs (as defined in the draft decision), objectively misleading information capable of discrediting Synthon GA (as defined in the draft decision) and of hindering and/or delaying its market entry and uptake on these national markets.



6.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s assessment in the draft decision as regards the duration of Teva’s exclusionary disparagement abuse, in violation of Article 102 TFEU, in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.



7.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the two violations of Article 102 TFEU covered by the draft decision constitute a single and continuous infringement of the same Article.



8.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission that a fine should be imposed on the addressees of the draft decision.



9.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) agrees with the Commission on the final amount of the fines, based on the 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed pursuant to Article 23(2)(a) of Regulation No 1/2003.



10.   

The Advisory Committee (11 Member States) recommends the publication of its Opinion in the Official Journal of the European Union.




ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1681/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)