| AstraZeneca AB and AstraZeneca plc v Commission | |
| Court: | Court of Justice of the EU |
| Citations: | (2012) C-457/10 P |
| Prior Actions: | (2010) T-321/05 |
AstraZeneca AB and AstraZeneca plc v Commission (2012) C-457/10 P is an EU competition law case, concerning monopoly and abuse of a dominant position.[1]
AstraZeneca plc misrepresented the dates of invention of a stomach ulcer drug, omeprazole (its brand was Losec), to national patent offices and courts. It also deregistered a capsule version, to get longer patent protection, and thus prevent other companies producing generic versions of the drug.
The Commission fined AstraZeneca €60 million. AstraZeneca brought an action against the Commission to annul the fine.
The Court of Justice upheld the Commission's fine of €60 million based on ‘highly misleading representations with the aim of leading public authorities into error’, and depriving generic drug manufacturers of the ability to produce the drug.[2] The fact that AstraZeneca was allowed to withdraw Losec capsules under registration procedures did not mean it was not an abuse to do so under article 102.