Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm has successfully defended the interests of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturer Biopharma in a case involving the protection of competition in Ukraine's immunoglobulins market.
Biopharma LLC specializes in the development and production of medicinal products from human-donated blood, recombinant drugs, and drugs based on spore-forming bacteria.
According to Ilyashev & Partners, "in July 2019 the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (hereinafter – the AMCU) adopted Decision No. 526-р in the case No. 143-26.13/68-18/91-13 on violation by PrJSC Biopharma and Pharmaceutical Plant Biopharma LLC of legislation on the protection of economic competition by the abuse of monopoly (dominant) position. As a result ... it imposed fines on Pharmaceutical Plant Biopharma LLC for the alleged use in the equivalent contracts with wholesale buyers / distributors of the medicines of different payment deferment terms."
Acting on behalf of Biopharma, Ilyashev & Partners appealed the AMCU's decision. According to the firm, "by its Resolution dated 9 July 2020 the Supreme Court put an end to the dispute: it confirmed the legitimacy of actions of the pharmaceutical manufacturer and revoked the decision on imposition of fines, upholding the decisions taken earlier by the court of first instance and court of appeal."
“The Supreme Court concluded that the AMCU analyzed unequal agreements," commented Ilyashev & Partners Partner Oleksandr Fefelov. "Given the position of the Supreme Court, which has flawlessly clarified the situation, the contracts for purchase and sale of goods with the aim of participating in a tender cannot be considered equivalent to those where the goods were purchased for further distribution, in other ways. In addition, the AMCU failed to confirm the presence of an adverse impact on competition between the distributors, since the payment terms were actually equal, fair, beneficial for all buyers, and not a single fact of competition distortion was recorded."