Är konkurrensen på läkemedelsmarknaden smittad av läkemedelspatent? - En analys av originaltillverkarnas strategier för att undvika konkurrensen på den europeiska läkemedelsmarknaden, framförallt evergreening.

Sammanfattning: Over the last couple of years, numerous pharmaceutical patents have expired, greatly affecting the European pharmaceutical sector. Further pharmaceutical advancements are of essential importance to the European inhabitants, as it continuously generates safe and innovative drugs that enable a general wellbeing. For the continued development to function, pharmaceutical companies require incentives, while a competitive market is necessary for prices to remain reasonable. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to clarify as to which extent a pharmaceutical company’s possession and usage of a patent could constitute abuse of dominant position in accordance with EU competitive law. The essay considers the inherent conflict between patent law and competition law, and thereby the conflict between the development of pharmaceutical products and reasonably priced consumer drugs. The European pharmaceutical market is also covered, chiefly the relationship between original producers and generic producers. In the essay, EPC patents are applied unto the competition law regulations in Article 102 TFEU, and conclusions are drawn from how these regulations affect pharmaceutical companies. Special regard is given to how the patent affects the assessment of the companies potentially dominant position and the original producers’ different strategies to avoid competition.