[Ip-health] VBB on Merck Italian CL

[James Packard Love]

VBB on Competition Law Volume 2007, No. 1
Page 12, 19 January 2007

Merck presents commitments to the Italian Competition Authority
regarding the conditions of access by potential competitors to its
products

On 21 November 2006, the Italian Competition Authority (=93ICA=94)
published on its website the commitments presented by Merck & Co.
Inc. and its Italian branch Merck Sharp and Dohme (=93Merck=94) within
the context of the proceeding

Merck Principi Attivi initiated in February 2005 (see VBB on
Competition Law, Volume 2005, No. 4). In an earlier decision of 15
June 2005, the ICA already had imposed interim measures upon Merck
for a prima facie violation of Article 82 EC (see VBB on Competition
Law, Volume 2005, No. 6).

In particular, under the commitments Merck offers to grant, as of 1
July 2007, a royalty-free non-exclusive licence to any manufacturer
of generic pharmaceuticals for the import, manufacturing, promotion
or sales in Italy of PROSCAR, a product using an active substance
called finasteride.

Interested parties can submit their observations within 30 days of
publication of the commitments presented by Merck. Subsequently,
Merck will have the possibility to reply to such observations within
a short time limit which will be set by the ICA. In any event, the
proceeding concerning Merck=92s commitments must be concluded by 16
March 2007.

It is interesting to note that Merck=92s commitments have been
presented pursuant to the amended version of the Italian Competition
Act. In fact, the ICA has been expressly empowered to accept
commitments after the recent introduction in August 2006 of a new
Article to the Italian Competition Act (i.e., Article 14-ter).


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James Packard Love
Knowledge Ecology International
http://www.keionline.org
james.love@keionline.org
Washington, DC +1.202.332.2670

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks." Bill Walton"