The European Commission has fined Teva Pharmaceuticals 462.6 million euros ($503 million) for abusing its dominant market position by blocking competition to its multiple sclerosis drug, Copaxone. This case represents the largest antitrust fine imposed on a pharmaceutical company in recent years, surpassing the €288 million fine imposed on Servier in 2014. According to the commission, Teva abused the patent system to artificially extend the exclusivity of Copaxone in several European markets by submitting a compensation claim. “divisional patent network” covering manufacturing and dosing processes, with patents filed in a staggered manner to prevent generic competitors from entering the market.
Teva Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1901 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is considered the largest generic drug maker in the world. Copaxone is the company’s flagship drug.
In addition to patent manipulation, the commission found that Teva conducted a “vilification campaign” against Synthon, the only other company with a competing drug approved in Europe that contained Copaxone’s active ingredient, glatiramer acetate. Teva “has disseminated information contradicted by the findings of health authorities, seeking to sow doubts about the safety, efficacy and therapeutic equivalence of the rival product,” the commission said, underlining that this campaign involved targeting doctors and drug pricing authorities.
Margrethe Vestager, Head of Competition Policy at the European Commission, commented: “With today’s decision, the Commission is helping to keep medicines affordable, preserving treatment choice and promoting innovation, for the benefit of EU patients and national health systems”.
Teva expressed disappointment with the ruling and plans to appeal, describing the decision as “based on legal theories… that are extreme, untested and factually unsupported.” In a statement, Teva stressed that it has been “a strong partner for Europe, its patients, economy and healthcare systems” since 1996.
This isn’t Teva’s first brush with European antitrust actions; it was previously fined €60.5 million in 2020 for a similar “payment for delay” scheme involving its sleep disorder drug, Provigil.