Competition authorities open proceedings against Novartis
Weko examined Novartis premises.
tsf. The Competition Commission (Comco) has opened an investigation into a Swiss pharmaceutical company. Weko did not name the company. However, the pharmaceutical company Novartis confirmed on Thursday morning that it had been contacted by the Competition Commission. The company said it was cooperating fully with the authorities and was looking forward to the process with optimism.
In cooperation with the European Commission, Weko is investigating allegations that the company may have used a patent in an illegal manner to protect itself from competition.
Weko opened the investigation on September 13 and carried out a search of the company’s premises. The company allegedly tried to protect its own preparation for the treatment of skin diseases against competing products by initiating court proceedings based on one of its patents.
The investigation is intended to clarify whether there is a use of so-called blocking patents, which could represent an inadmissible abuse of an allegedly dominant position according to the Cartel Act. Blocking patents are patents that are not used by the patent owner, but are only intended to prevent third parties from entering a certain market.
Weko has cooperated with the European Commission. This cooperation is made possible by the 2014 bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union on cooperation in the field of competition law.
Logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne is expanding his Lufthansa stake to 17.5 percent
Klaus-Michael Kühne increases his stake in Lufthansa.
(Bloomberg) The logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne used the state’s exit to increase his stake in Lufthansa to 17.5 percent. He could now seek representation on the board of the crane airline. The purchase of additional shares “underlines the positive view of Kuehne Holding on the company,” said a spokeswoman for the majority owner of the sea freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel. She did not want to comment on whether Kühne intends to increase his stake further.
Kühne’s share could mean that he can send a representative to the Lufthansa supervisory board if a space becomes available. The term of office of four shareholder representatives expires before the Annual General Meeting in 2023.
The Federal Government’s Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) sold its remaining stake in Lufthansa via a block placement on Wednesday. The state has thus completed its rescue operation during the corona pandemic with a profit of 760 million euros. Kühnes Holding also has a 30 percent stake in the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG.