Irish Pharmaceuticals – An Allegation Of Predatory Pricing

Recently, pharmaceutical companies have rejected allegations that they have been pursuing "predatory pricing" for new medicines. The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics alleged that pharmaceutical companies were offering discounts of up to 40% and 60% in negotiations to bring their drugs to the market. This serves as a reminder to all companies, whether in the pharmaceutical industry or not, that it is important to be cognisant of competition law when carrying out business. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC") is responsible for enforcing Irish and EU competition law. The relevant legislation in Ireland is the Competition Acts 2002 – 2017 (the "Acts") which reflects the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the "TFEU"). The Acts prohibit anti-competitive behaviour such as the abuse of a dominant position that a company may hold in the market. Predatory pricing would constitute such an abuse. Predatory pricing is classed as selling