ACCC looks at Sigma/Aspen
October 28, 2010
THE Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission has issued
a Statement of Issues on the
proposed acquisition of the
pharmaceutical division of Sigma
by South African firm Aspen
Pharmacare.
The move is part of an ‘informal
review’ of the deal by the ACCC,
initiated on 06 Sep, which saw a
market inquiries letter sent to a
range of stakeholders asking for
comment on the competitive effects
of the proposed acquisition.
The statement of issues released
yesterday details a range of areas
in which the company’s product
ranges overlap, including ramipril,
clarithromycin, penicilin V,
betamethasone valerate, iron
polymaltose, prednisone and
dextropropoxyphen hydrocholoride
with paracetamol combinations.
“The parties’ operations also
overlap in the supply of drugs
falling within a number of broad
therapeutic areas,” the document
states.
For each product the ACCC has considered the extent to which the
proposed acquisition would allow
the merged firm to change the level
of discounts and/or non price
benefits offered to pharmacists.
Stakeholders are also asked to
comment on the likely timeframe
required for other providers to
launch competing products, and
“whether the threat of new entry
and expansion within that
timeframe would be sufficiently
timely to constrain the merged firm”.
The ACCC says its preliminary
view is that the deal may raise
competition concerns in relation to
several areas including the supply
of prednisone and prednisolone
and betamethasone valerate.
Aspen is also 19% owned by
GlaxoSmithKline, and the ACCC
says it’s also concerned about the
flow of information from Aspen to
GSK, and that competition between
the merged firm and GSK may be
‘muted’ in some markets.
Comments are invited from
interested parties, with a closing
date of submissions of 11 Nov.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 28 Oct 10To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 28 Oct 10
