- The Swiss Competition Commission Weko is investigating whether an international pharmaceutical company has refused a Swiss wholesaler to purchase products on more favorable terms.
- The name of the company will not be mentioned for the time being.
- Drinking and special foods are affected, as the SDA-Keystone news agency writes.
The pharmaceutical company is being scrutinized by ComCo for possible abuse of market power. It may have violated antitrust laws. In two weeks, the pharmaceutical company allegedly violating the Cartel Act will be mentioned in the Official Gazette of Commerce.
New provision in the Antitrust Act
Specifically, Weko is investigating whether the pharmaceutical company has relative market power over the Swiss wholesaler and is thus abusing its position. ComCo has been applying the new regulations on relative market power since the beginning of the year. A company has relative market power if other companies are so dependent on it for the supply or demand of goods or services that there are no sufficient and reasonable alternatives.
These new provisions in the Cartel Act serve in particular to combat Switzerland as an island of high prices. They go back to the fair price initiative and form the direct counter-proposal to the referendum. The initiators withdrew the request due to the change in the law.