Mino Lopez, Antonio --- "ANTITRUST PRACTICES IN PHARMACEUTICAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT" [2019] ELECD 1274; in Figueroa, Pablo; Guerrero, Alejandro (eds), "EU Law of Competition and Trade in the Pharmaceutical Sector" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 311

Book Title: EU Law of Competition and Trade in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Editor(s): Figueroa, Pablo; Guerrero, Alejandro

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: ANTITRUST PRACTICES IN PHARMACEUTICAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Author(s): Miño López, Antonio

Number of pages: 66

Abstract/Description:

The chapter studies comprehensively anti-competitive practices pervasive in drugs tenders launched by healthcare entities. The complexity of the pharmaceutical industry jeopardises the free access to a large bunch of medicines and raise their price up. A very limited number of transnational firms lead many pharmaceutical markets all over the world and assert their power against contracting authorities. These “big boys” repeat in a lot of antitrust cases worldwide, for they do not hesitate to collude where they lack dominant position or where tenders prevent them from enforcing their dominance. Public procurement laws have been designed to favour competition and to search value for money. In many cases, public contracting bodies have the upper hand to the point of enjoying a (quasi-)monopsonistic situation. The focus has been set on pharmaceutical procurement but has also been spread to other supplies in order to make a more exhaustive study.