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The European Commission today launched a major crackdown on the pharmaceuticals industry, warning that it intends to "intensify its scrutiny" of Big Pharma in a bid to bring cheaper generic drugs on to the market more quickly.
After an 18-month investigation, anti-trust investigators identified 200 agreements between generic and big-brand drugmakers, and condemned the industry for engaging in "defensive patenting strategies" to block generic versions of its blockbuster drugs.
The EC counted the cost of the behaviour at �3 billion (£2.6 billion).
It said a Europe-wide patent to bring drugs to market faster by negating the need for national-level approvals is a top priority.
In a sign of the force of the EC's intent, it also singled out individual firms for anti-trust probing.
After raiding several drugmakers' headquarters, including British giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, its first investigation focuses on France's Servier, which is suspected of paying firms to delay a cheaper version of one of its heart drug.
Generic companies including Israel's Teva and several Indian firms are also under investigation.
