Beijing Zizhu Pharmaceutical Operation Co., Ltd. was fined 1264.36 million yuan for implementing a monopoly agreement. The reporter learned from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Regulation that the goods involved in the case that were limited to the lowest price monopoly were emergency contraceptive pills "Jin Yuting" and "Yuting". This case is the first anti-monopoly law enforcement case in the pharmaceutical field in the city.
According to the administrative penalty decision issued by the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, between 2015 and 2021, Zizhu Pharmaceutical and its trading counterparties reached and implemented monopoly agreements nationwide that "fixed the price of goods resold to third parties" and "limited the minimum price of goods resold to third parties", eliminating and restricting market competition and harming the interests of consumers and the public interest. After investigation, the drugs with fixed resale price and limited minimum price of "Zizhu Pharmaceutical" are Jin Yuting (levonorgestrel tablets 1.5mg) and Yuting (levonorgestrel tablets 0.75mg*2), both of which are oral emergency contraceptives, mainly used in female emergency contraception, that is, used when there is no protective measure or other contraceptive methods accidentally fail.
"Zizhu Pharmaceutical" has set up an OTC business department, which is responsible for formulating the price policy of the goods involved, and the price policy is implemented after approval by the general manager. The commercial department of "Zizhu Pharmaceutical" is responsible for the channel management of distributors and communicates the price sales policy to distributors. Through the channel management team covering the whole country, the price policy of the involved goods is communicated to all distributors for implementation.
As a well-known brand of emergency contraceptive pills in China, the goods involved in the case have a good reputation and strong influence. In the "2020 China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry Annual Summit", Jin Yuting won the honor of "2020 China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry OTC Excellent Product Brand". In the "2021 China OTC Drug Products Comprehensive Statistics Ranking List" released by the China Non-prescription Drug Association, Yu Ting and Jin Yuting won the second place in the chemical lifestyle products. The market demand for emergency contraceptive pills is relatively stable, and as an on-demand drug, the availability and long-term brand reputation of the drug play a crucial role in consumer choice. The parties' fixed resale price and fixed minimum price led to price convergence among distributors, hindered the normal functioning of the market price mechanism, eliminated and restricted price competition between distributors, reduced the opportunity for consumers to profit from market competition, and harmed the interests of consumers and the public interest.
The administrative penalty decision shows that Zizhu Pharmaceutical's act of reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement with its counterparty to fix the resale price and set the minimum price violated the relevant provisions of the original Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China. On May 5, the Beijing Municipal Bureau for Market Regulation imposed administrative penalties on Beijing Zizhu Pharmaceutical Operation Co., Ltd. for reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement to "fix and limit the price of distributors selling Jin Yuting and Yuting". In addition to ordering the cessation of the illegal activities, a fine of 24% of its sales in China in 2020, totaling 2,1264,36 yuan, was imposed. (Beijing Daily Client |.) Reporter Zhang Nan)