The Competition Commission (Comco) found nothing wrong with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, suspected of having used a blocking patent to protect itself from its rivals. This type of practice is usual, says the regulator, who closed the investigation opened in September 2022.
The behavior adopted by Novartis was common in the field of patent law and also consistent with cartel law, the competition watchdog said in a press release on Thursday. As part of this procedure, Comco collaborated with the European Commission, which carried out its own investigation and came to the same conclusions.
Position dominante
Following suspicions weighing on Novartis, the regulator carried out a search at the headquarters of the Basel group. Novartis was suspected of launching legal actions based on the aforementioned blocking patent, thereby seeking to protect a drug intended for the treatment of skin diseases.
Cartel law governs the limitation of production, outlets or technical development on the market induced by a blocking patent. The use of this type of intellectual property can prove problematic for a player the size of Novartis, which has a dominant position in certain areas.
When the investigation was launched, the Rhine giant said it was confident about the “legitimacy of its position”.
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