Following an investigation, the global speciality pharmaceuticals company has agreed to the payment, compliance measures and to correct communications.
The investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into Australian global speciality pharmaceuticals company Vifor Pharma, best known for its intravenous iron deficiency treatment Ferinject, has concluded.
As Healthcare Today reported in January, the firm’s offer of £23 million to settle the anti-trust investigation has been accepted.
Following the decision, as well as the voluntary payment, the firm has agreed to correct any potentially misleading communications regarding the safety of Monofer and Ferinject, via a multi-channel communications campaign to healthcare professionals. It will also introduce several compliance measures to prevent the future dissemination of potentially misleading communications.
First of its kind
The CMA launched an investigation in January to see whether the firm had restricted competition by spreading misinformation to healthcare professionals about the safety of a rival treatment, Monofer, supplied by Pharmacosmos.
It is the first time a misleading claims case of this nature has been investigated by the CMA under its competition law enforcement powers.
The CMA’s investigation focused on intravenous iron treatments, typically prescribed where oral medicine is not suitable – such as treating patients with long-term health conditions or before undergoing major surgery.
Its concerns were based on the fact that Vifor may have abused what it calls “a suspected dominant position” by making potentially misleading claims about the relative safety of Monofer as compared to Ferinject.
Because Vifor Pharma has agreed to address the competition concerns, the CMA said that it would discontinue the investigation.
