On September 9, 2020, the French Competition Authority (AdlC) imposed a EUR 444 million fine on Novartis, Roche and Genentech. In its Decision, the AdlC considered that the three pharmaceutical companies had collectively sought to maintain Novartis’ Lucentis as the main treatment against age-related macular degeneration (DMLA) by stopping the off-label use of Avastin by doctors and health experts.
On February 16, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the Decision in all its provisions and found that none of the alleged anticompetitive conducts had been established by the Decision. In particular, the Court found that Roche’s communications with French health authorities were neither “alarmist” nor “misleading” and that the alleged conduct could not have had any anticompetitive effects.
A CRA team assisted Roche and its counsel Dechert throughout the AdlC’s investigation and in the preparation of the appeal. The CRA team conducted empirical analyses of the off-label use of Avastin in ophthalmology, and provided economic analyses of the definition of the relevant market, of Roche and Novartis’ alleged collective dominance, and of the effects of the alleged practices.
For more details, see the press release from the Paris court of Appeal or the MLex news article.
