Towards responsive enforcement of EU antitrust in pharmaceuticals

This chapter examines how the EU rules on cartels and dominance abuse (antitrust) are applied to the pharmaceutical sector, focusing on the approach of DG Competition and the Dutch NCA by way of example. After examining traditional enforcement strategies, it advocates a responsive approach, based on the work of John Braithwaite. This is expected to help address capacity problems and make the application of antitrust regarding pharmaceuticals more effective, while preserving its legitimacy. This approach also involves promoting more private enforcement. An additional expected benefit of relying on a responsive approach is that it will allow competition authorities to address currently underenforced related areas like medical devices and information technology in healthcare.