Author: Dr. Opeyemi Kolawole Post-doctoral Researcher, PatentsInHumans Project, ALL Insittute and Department of Law and Crimonology
Research Stream: Social Technologies
Competition law is pivotal in maintaining market equilibrium and safeguarding consumer welfare. In the European Union, competition law principles are enshrined in Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). While Article 101 prohibits the formation and enforcement of agreements that have the object or effect of distorting competition, Article 102 prevents a dominant firm from abusing its dominant market position.
Competition in healthcare services is critical to providing access to affordable medicines and medical technologies, ensuring expensive pharmaceutical and medical technologies do not significantly strain public and private finances. With their proactive enforcement of competition rules, the EU Commission and the 27 National Competition Authorities (NCAs) have been instrumental in this regard. In the recent Report on Competition Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Sector, published in January 2024, the EU Commission provides an overview of how EU competition rules have been enforced to prevent and rectify business practices which may harm competition in the common market and consumer welfare. This article examines some of the key decisions reached by the Commission and some of the NCAs and highlights potential improvement opportunities to maximise consumer welfare.
Continue reading “Competition Law Enforcement in the EU and Access to Health Technologies: An Overview of the EU 2024 Competition Law Report on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technologies – Update on Competition Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Sector (2018-2022)”