By Cristina Gallardo
Spain's competition watchdog opened an investigation into whether drug makers including Sandoz and its subsidiary Bexal broke antitrust rules by sharing sensitive commercial information.
The probe, which also involves Cencora-owned Alliance Healthcare Espana as well as Bluetab Solutions, is looking into whether the companies shared sensitive information about orders of Sandoz and Bexal generic medicines placed by some drug stores, the regulator known as the CNMC said Friday.
The investigation covers the period between April 2018 and April 2023 and focuses on whether information was exchanged directly between Sandoz and Alliance, or indirectly through Bluetab, without the prior knowledge or consent of the drug stores affected, the CNMC said.
The CNMC inspected the Spanish headquarters of Sandoz, Bexal, Alliance and Bluetab in November 2023 following a complaint being made against the companies, it said.
"The initiation of this investigation does not prejudge the final outcome," the CNMC said.
There is a time limit of 24 months to reach a decision on the case, it added.
None of the four companies were immediately available for comment.
Write to Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2025 09:26 ET (13:26 GMT)
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