French watchdog fines Merck, Reckitt in Subutex generics dispute

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French watchdog fines Merck, Reckitt in Subutex generics dispute

The French competition authority said on Thursday it had fined Schering-Plough, now owned by Merck, 15.3 million euros ($21 million) over what it called a smear campaign against generic competition to Subutex, its drug for opioid addiction. It also handed out a fine of 414,000 euros to parent Merck and another of 318,000 euros to British supplier Reckitt Benckiser for anti-competitive behavior in staging the campaign in late 2005. The decision follows a complaint filed by Actavis-owned generics maker Arrow Generiques against Schering Plough's communication practices towards pharmacists, which the watchdog said aimed to discourage them from ordering generic versions of Subutex, also known as buprenorphine. In a statement, the French competition watchdog said Schering-Plough, which was taken over by Merck in 2009, had disparaged Arrow's generic drug in its sales pitches and granted pharmacists unjustified discounts to prompt them to stock up on Subutex instead.

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