The Commission for Protection of Competition at its meeting convened on 12 April 2013, after evaluatng all the evidence before it, unanimously concluded that there was an infringement of Section 6(1)(d) of the Protection of Competition Law 2008, by Wyeth Hellas SA (Cyprus Branch) and Phadisco Ltd (“Phadisco”).
The case concerned the re-examination of the complaint submitted by Akis Panayiotou & Son Ltd against Wyeth and Phadisco regarding an alleged infringement of Section 6(1)(d) of the Law, in relation to the unfair promotion of the vaccine against meningitis through the imposition of fidelity rebates, for which a decision was issued on 11/05/2009 and for which the Attorney General had accepted annulment as a result of the judgment of the Supreme Court in appeals Nos. 1544-1509, 1545-1509, 1596-1509 and 1601/09 (ExxonMobil Cyprus Ltd and others and Commission for the Protection of Competition).
The CPC, with its decision dated 12 April 2013, unanimously reached the conclusion that Wyeth and Phadisco had infringed section 6(1)(d) of the Law by providing quantitative discounts according to the volumes purchased by doctors and pharmacists of the vaccines Meningitec and Prevenar. More specifically, during 2005 Wyeth and Phadisco gave free Meningitec vaccines with every purchase of a certain quantity of Meningitec or with the purchase of a certain quantity of Prevenar vaccine.
The Commission concluded that Wyeth and Phadisco during 2005 abused their dominant position in the market of pneumococcal vaccine, since the quantitative discounts offered to doctors and pharmacists were not economically justified. The Commission decided that the said pricing policy aimed at strengthening their market position in the market of meningococcal vaccines.
The Commission in light of the written comments made by Wyeth and Phadisco and after taking into account the gravity and duration, the nature and seriousness of the offense, as well as the aggravating/mitigating factors, in accordance with the procedures in sections 24(a)(i) and 42(1) of the Law, unanimously decided to impose an administrative fine of €206,168 to Phadisco Ltd, and an administrative fine of €8,234 to Wyeth Hellas SA through its successor PFAIZER HELLAS SA.