The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets is investigating whether Biogen illegally exploited its dominant market position in multiple sclerosis treatments. Regulators are examining allegations that the pharmaceutical company provided an essential safety blood test exclusively to patients using its brand-name therapy, Tysabri, while refusing it to competitors' patients. The inquiry specifically examines whether this diagnostic was withheld from individuals prescribed alternative treatments like Sandoz's biosimilar, Tyruko.
Key points
The Dutch competition authority is evaluating if proprietary diagnostic restrictions cons…: The Dutch competition authority is evaluating if proprietary diagnostic restrictions constitute illegal anti-competitive behavior.
Biogen currently supplies its viral monitoring test free of charge exclusively to patient…: Biogen currently supplies its viral monitoring test free of charge exclusively to patients taking Tysabri.
The outcome of the probe could impact how biosimilars compete against established, brand-…: The outcome of the probe could impact how biosimilars compete against established, brand-name multiple sclerosis therapies.
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Dutch anti-trust regulators are investigating allegations that Biogen may have abused its dominant position in the market for multiple sclerosis treatments and associated blood tests.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, also known by its Dutch acronym ACM, is probing whether the company reserved a test for patients who are treated with Tysabri, its MS drug, and refusing to make the test available to patients on rival medications, such as Tyruko, a biosimilar version that is sold by Sandoz.
Patients who are treated with Tysabri, Biogen’s biggest-selling medicine, must be regularly tested for the risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, an infection caused by a virus that may be fatal or result in severe disability. Biogen developed a test for the virus and provides it free of charge — and exclusively — to patients receiving Tysabri.
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Emergency personnel treated dozens of runners after unseasonably high temperatures reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit along the Pacific coast during Sunday's competition. Hospital staff alerted law enforcement after noticing an influx of patients suffering from severe and unusual physical distress. While the exact trigger remains unconfirmed, most individuals have since been discharged following evaluations for extreme heat-related ailments.
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