This case concerned an active ingredient for antibiotics whose patents had expired in most of European markets but not in Italy. The patent holder, Merck & CO. Inc. (Merck Sharp & Dohme; hereinafter “MSD”) refused to grant a license requested by an Italian company, ACS Dobfar S.p.A.

In the IMS Health case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter “CJEU”) clarified the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test used to determine whether a refusal to license an intellectual property right (hereinafter “IPR”) constitutes an abuse of a dominant position under Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The Hazel Tau case provides an example of how competition law can be used to facilitate access to affordable medicines.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) upheld the General Court’s decision that AstraZeneca abused its dominant position by excluding from the market competing manufacturers of generic products. The CJEU concluded that AstraZeneca’s attempt to mislead the patent offices amounted to an abuse of a dominant position and that the deregistration of the marketing authorizations (MAs) for its anti-ulcer medicine with the principal intention of preventing generic market entry was inconsistent with European competition law.