Aspen laboratory forced to cut price of anticancer drugs in EU
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager salutes after forcing the Aspen laboratory to reduce the price of its anticancer treatments in the European Union, during a press conference in Brussels on February 10, 2021 REUTERS - Johanna Geron
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The European Commission announced on Wednesday February 10 that it had forced the South African laboratory Aspen to drastically reduce its prices for six anti-cancer drugs in Europe, after noting an abuse of a dominant position.
While these drugs had not been protected by patents for 50 years, Aspen prices "exceeded its costs by almost 300%", according to the Commission.
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Faced with pressure from the European Commission, the South African laboratory Aspen, has pledged to reduce the price of its cancer treatments on average by 73% after a standoff.
A victory for the European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who emphasizes that this sanction will allow “
European health systems to save tens of millions of euros
”.
In Brussels since 2017,
Aspen was the subject of an investigation into its pricing practices
.
The committee then pointed to disproportionate increases in the price of these drugs from 2012, in all European countries where the laboratory sold these treatments used in particular in blood cancers.
Thousands of patients in Europe depend on it
.
Brussels suspected the laboratory of having taken advantage of its dominant position to bill "
at excessive prices
" for these anticancer drugs: the latter had not been protected by patents for 50 years, but no generic existed.
According to the findings of the investigation, "
Aspen's prices exceeded its
[production]
costs
by almost 300
%
", making huge profits, much higher than those of its competitors.
"
No legitimate reason
"
justifies
"
the extremely high level of Aspen profits
", the Commission said.
A situation which the commission has just put an end to, by forcing Aspen to return to its prices practiced before 2012, the date of the start of the abusive increases.
In addition to the reduction in prices, the laboratory has committed not to exceed the new reduced prices over the next ten years and to guarantee the supply of the drugs concerned during the same period.
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