Bundeskartellamt imposes fines against pharmacist associations and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals for asking pharmacists to observe non-binding price recommendations of manufacturers

The Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totalling 465,000 euros against nine Land pharmacist associations, the Federal Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (BAH) and five pharmaceuticals manufacturers.

Since early 2004, non-prescription but pharmacy medicines (so-called OTC medicines) are no longer subject to resale price maintenance so that each pharmacist is free to determine his prices. The legislator’s intention was to set in motion price competition for these medicines. In order to restrict the price competition which they feared, various market participants took measures that violated competition law (see today’s press releases regarding pharmacists in the City of Hildesheim and the proceedings pending against Bayer Vital of 11 October 2007).

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr Heitzer, stated: “The case shows that the competition principle has not yet sufficiently established itself with pharmacists and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. With this decision the Bundeskartellamt will help get price competition on its feet to the benefit of the consumers.”

In late 2003 nine Land pharmacist associations and the Federal Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, in which many manufacturers of non-prescription medicines are represented, organized speech events in 24 German cities. At these events, attended by several thousand pharmacists, speakers from the pharmacist associations, business consultancies and pharmaceutical manufacturers suggested that pharmacists refrain from price competition and instead observe the non-binding price recommendations of the manufacturers.

In the Bundeskartellamt’s view the decision of the Land pharmacist associations to hold similar speech events in their federal states violates the ban on cartels. The Federal Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and the industrial companies involved participated in implementing the decisions of the Land associations. As the series of speech events dates back several years at a time when price competition had just been made possible in the pharmacy sector, the Bundeskartellamt considered the low fines sufficient to remind the parties concerned of their responsibilities. The Bundeskartellamt assumes that similar violations will not be repeated in the future.

Fines were imposed against the following associations and companies:

- Baden-Württemberg Pharmacist Association
- Bavarian Pharmacist Association
- Brandenburg Pharmacist Association
- Mecklenburg-West Pommerania Pharmacist Association
- Lower Saxony Pharmacist Association
- Rhineland-Palatinate Pharmacist Association
- Saxony Pharmacist Association
- Saxony-Anhalt Pharmacist Association
- Schleswig-Holstein Pharmacist Association
- Federal Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
- Bayer Vital GmbH
- Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG
- McNeil Pharma GmbH & Co. OHG
- Novartis Consumer Health GmbH
- Procter & Gamble GmbH.

The orders imposing the fines are not yet final.