Catherine Longeval is a partner with Van Bael & Bellis based in their Brussels office where she specialises in litigation before the Belgian courts and advises clients on a wide range of issues, including life sciences law. Her expertise in this area covers laws governing medicines, biotech products, medical devices, cosmetics and food supplements, among other aspects. She also specialises in unfair market practices, distribution law, product liability, employment law and general commercial law. Catherine began her professional career in October 1989. Prior to joining Van Bael & Bellis in 1994, she worked as an associate with a leading Brussels law firm. She regularly lectures and writes on life sciences regulatory matters and procedural law matters. She often speaks at conferences.
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On 8 August 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal ( CAT ) unanimously upheld a decision of the UK Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) which in July 2021 had imposed fines totalling more than £101 million on Advanz Pharma ( Advanz ) and two previous private equity owners, Cinven and (...)
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On 20 July 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority published its annual report for 2022 and enforcement priorities for 2023. The following points are noteworthy : The BCA reorganised itself in 2022, with the creation of two separate practices (one for merger control and the other to prosecute (...)
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On 14 July 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit / Autorité belge de la Concurrence – the BCA) published a note confirming that it was competent to review mergers and acquisitions between hospitals under the Belgian merger control regime (the Note). In a (...)
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On 12 July 2023, the European Commission (the Commission) imposed its largest gun jumping fine ever on Illumina because that firm had closed its acquisition of Grail while the Commission’s merger control review was still pending (see, attached Commission press release). Due to what the (...)
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Autoriteit Consument & Markt, the Dutch competition authority ( ACM ), announced on 11 July 2023 that it had considered the objections raised by Leadiant against its earlier decision of 1 July 2021 finding Leadiant guilty of an abuse of dominant position in the form of excessive prices (...)
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On 6 July 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit / Autorité belge de la Concurrence – the BCA ) sent a Statement of Objections to the three main market players in the private security sector, namely G4S, Securitas and Seris. This is a significant step in an (...)
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On 3 July 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit / Autorité belge de la Concurrence – the BCA ) sent a Statement of Objections to Pari-Mutuel Urbain ( PMU ), Derby and Tiercé Ladbroke. The BCA suspects these firms of having entered into anticompetitive (...)
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On 29 June 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit / Autorité belge de la Concurrence – the BCA ) announced in a press release the confirmation of the competition prosecutor’s decision regarding the creation of a data room in the second phase merger (...)
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The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) continued its quixotic quest to stop telecommunications operator Proximus from acquiring the assets of near-bankrupt broadband communications service provider EDPnet. Its competition college issued a standstill and hold-separate order requiring Proximus (...)
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Last month, the Belgian Competition Authority ( BCA ) decided to open abuse of dominance proceedings against telecommunications operator Proximus on account of that party’s acquisition of struggling Edpnet (see, Life Sciences News and Insights, 23 March 2023). On 20 April 2023, the BCA’s chief (...)
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The Belgian Competition Authority ( BCA ) announced yesterday that it would review the acquisition of Edpnet by telecommunications operator Proximus under the rules prohibiting abusive conduct by dominant companies (see, attached press release). Edpnet supplies broadband communications (...)
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As if on cue, the Belgian competition authority announced on 24 January 2023 new significant developments with regard to their enforcement activities in the pharmaceutical sector. The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) indicated that it had imposed a fine of EUR 2,782,808 on Novartis for (...)
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According to the attached press release of yesterday’s date, the Lithuanian competition authority ( Konkurencijos Taryba or KT ) levied total fines of more than EUR 72 million on the Lithuanian Pharmacy Association and 8 individual pharmaceutical companies. While KT imposed a record fine, (...)
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On 14/11/2022, the Spanish Competition Authority (CNMC) imposed a fine of EUR 10.25 million on Leadiant because that firm was found to have abused its dominant position by applying excessive prices for chenodeoxycholic acid, an orphan medicine indicated for the treatment of patients afflicted (...)
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Today, the Spanish competition authority (Comisión nacional de los mercados y la competencia - CNMC ) imposed a fine of EUR 38,934,000 on Merck Sharp & Dohme ( MSD ) because that firm allegedly abused its dominant position in the market for contraceptive vaginal rings (see, attached press (...)
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AG Kokott Supports Application of Article 102 TFEU to Acquisitions of Small Promising Firms in Life Sciences and Other High Technology Sectors In a non-binding opinion given to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Advocate General Kokott yesterday expressed the view that (...)
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The European Commission (the Commission ) adopted today a revised Informal Guidance Notice ( IGN ) that explains the business community how to obtain a guidance letter that addresses unresolved or novel questions regarding the application of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the (...)
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On 28 September 2022, the Competition Council of the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority ( DCCA ) issued 6 recommendations to bolster competition, ensure lower prices and improve service in the pharmacy sector (see, attachment). The recommendations stem from an analysis of competitive (...)
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On 27 September 2022, the Romanian competition authority announced the start of a sectoral inquiry into the retail market for pharmaceutical products. The authority perceives a risk of diminished access to medicines at retail level, caused by inadequate levels of supply to pharmacies. As (...)
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As we have previously reported (Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News and Insights, 15 September 2022), on 13 September 2022, the Swiss Competition Authority carried out an inspection at the premises of Novartis Pharma AG ( Novartis ). In parallel, Novartis received a request for (...)
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On 6 September 2022, the European Commission (the Commission ) prohibited the acquisition of cancer detection test start-up Grail by genetic and genomic analysis firm Illumina (see, attached Commission press releases). This decision formed the dramatic culmination of a procedure which the (...)
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On 20 August 2021, the European Commission (the Commission ) said that it would investigate whether Illumina’s decision, made public on 18 August 2021, to acquire Grail pending the Commission’s review of that transaction under Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between (...)
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Yesterday, the General Court of the European Union came down on the side of the European Commission (the Commission ) in that agency’s dispute with genomics firm Illumina and held that the Commission has jurisdiction to examine Illumina’s acquisition of cancer detection test start-up Grail, (...)
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On 16 June 2022, the Luxemburg Competition Authority (LCA) published its report (the Report) detailing the outcome of a sector inquiry into medicines and pharmacies (see, attached press release and Report). The Report does not analyse possibly anticompetitive behaviour of private firms but (...)
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On 1 June 2022, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) upheld the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal, which in turn largely upheld the 2017 decision of the French Competition Authority (FCA) to impose fines of EUR 25 million on Janssen Cilag and its parent company Johnson & (...)
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The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) announced today that it imposed a fine of EUR 29.8 million on McKesson subsidiary and pharmaceutical wholesaler Pharma Belgium-Belmedis (PBB) on account of that firm’s participation in an alleged cartel between 2003 and 2016 (see, attached press (...)
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The Dutch competition authority today announced, and at the same time closed, a case concerning pricing strategies against biosimilar competitors. The case concerns the product Enbrel (etanercept - a TNF inhibitor use for treatment of autoimmune diseases), and involves alleged conditional (...)
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On 3 February 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that – following an investigation into the conduct of several pharmaceutical firms – it had fined several firms a total of over £35 million for an anti-competitive arrangement in the supply of important National (...)
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On 6 December 2021, the Romanian competition authority announced that it conducted a dawn raid at the premises of Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) to investigate allegedly abusive conduct which targeted generic rivals of two of BI’s innovative medicines (see, attached press release in Romanian and (...)
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Less than a month ago, the European Commission (the Commission) announced that it would open an investigation to determine whether Illumina’s decision to acquire Grail pending its review of that transaction under Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the (...)
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On 28 September 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) launched a public consultation that probes for stakeholders’ views on the reform of the pharmaceutical regulatory framework. The consultation will run until 21 December 2021 and marks a new milestone in a long-running debate (...)
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In September 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) announced that it would open an investigation to determine whether Illumina’s decision to acquire Grail pending its review of that transaction under Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the Merger (...)
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On 20 August 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) announced that it would investigate whether Illumina’s decision, made public on 18 August 2021, to acquire Grail pending the Commission’s review of that transaction under Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between (...)
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On 29 July 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) imposed fines totalling more than £101 million on Advanz Pharma and previous owners, Cinven and HgCapital, for charging excessive and unfair prices for liothyronine tablets – a treatment for hypothyroidism (see Press Release). (...)
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On 15 July 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) imposed fines of more than GBP 260 million on the hydrocortisone tablet suppliers, Auden Mckenzie and Actavis (now named Accord-UK) for charging excessive and unfair prices and for paying potential rivals to remain out of the (...)
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On 18 June 2021, the Dutch competition authority, Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), announced that it would prepare guidelines to counter “vendor lock-in” in information technology systems for the healthcare sector, principally hospital information systems and electronic patient files. (...)
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In a controversial move, the European Commission (the Commission) announced on 20 April 2021 that it would review the proposed acquisition of cancer detection test start-up Grail by genomics firm Illumina, both of the US. The Commission acted on a request of France, which was backed by three (...)
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On 2 April 2021, the Austrian competition authority accepted commitments and closed its case concerning pricing strategies alleged to unlawfully hinder entry by generic competitors. According to the authority’s press release, the investigated pricing strategy concerned the product Temodal (...)
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On Monday 29 March 2021, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition (the Commission) published its second “new style” comfort letter. It was addressed to the organisers of an online “matchmaking event” that runs on 29 and 31 March 2021 and brings together more than 300 (...)
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On 25 March 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dismissed all appeals against the decision of the European Commission (the Commission) to fine Lundbeck and four generic pharmaceutical companies (Alpharma, Arrow, Merck, and Ranbaxy) for concluding “pay-for-delay” patent (...)
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On 18 March 2021, the Official Journal of the European Union published a European Commission (Commission) Notice on “tools to fight collusion in public procurement and on guidance on how to apply the related exclusion ground” (see, attached copy ; the Notice). The Notice develops the tools (...)
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1. Background of Case On 18 March 2021, the Italian highest administrative court, the Consiglio di Stato (the CS), decided to refer a case under its review for the second time to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) pursuant to Article 267 TFEU. The case finds its origin in a (...)
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The Spanish Competition Authority, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (“CNMC”), imposed total fines of € 5,76 million on Novartis Groupe France and its Spanish subsidiary Advanced Accelerator Applications Ibérica, SLU (“AAA”), Glo Holdco and its Spanish subsidiary Curium (...)
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Reports that Leadiant is also in the crosshairs of the Spanish competition authority were confirmed today. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia announced that it started formal proceedings against Leadiant Biosciences Spa and Leadiant Biosciences LTD on the grounds that these (...)
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The Bundeskartellamt, the German competition authority (BKA), authorised today under German merger control rules a proposed joint venture company (JV) to run a digital healthcare platform for the purchase and ordering of both prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other functions (...)
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The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published today its decision accepting binding commitments from Essential Pharma (EP) to continue supplying for at least 5 years a medicine for the first line treatment of bipolar disorder and other mental conditions at a price considered (...)
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On 7 December 2020, the European Commissioner responsible for competition policy Margrethe Vestager delivered a speech at the OECD Global Forum on Competition entitled “Competition policy : time for a reset ?” in which she discussed the Commission’s priorities for 2021 (see, attachment). (...)
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On 26 November 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) brought to an end a long running competition case by finding against Cephalon and Teva on account of a “pay-for-delay” patent settlement agreement involving modafinil, the active substance of a sleeping disorder medicine (see, (...)
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On 25 November 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) unveiled its Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe (PSE), a wide-ranging document that discusses a series of broad policy statements, tentative considerations and concrete measures to tackle the many challenges faced by the (...)
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Early last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) started an investigation into Essential Pharma because of suspicions that the firm might have abused an allegedly dominant position by taking steps to withdraw Priadel® from the UK market. This is a lithium based medicine indicated (...)
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The Polish competition authority, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection ( UOKiK ), has proven to be an energetic enforcer of the competition rules. Over the past few days, UOKiK found itself in the limelight because of two new distinct inquiries in the pharmaceutical sector that (...)
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The Italian competition authority, the “Autorità garante della concorrenza e del mercato” ( AGCM ), announced yesterday that it would continue its inquiry into the practices of pharmaceutical company Leadiant Biosciences ( Leadiant ) until 30 June 2021 (see, attached extract from AGCM’s latest (...)
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On 6 October 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) started an inquiry into Essential Pharma to determine whether that company abused an allegedly dominant position when announcing the withdrawal from the UK market of Priadel®, a lithium based medicine indicated for the first line (...)
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The Romanian Competition Authority announced on 25 August 2020 that it imposed a fine of 11.9 million lei (approximately EUR 2.5 million) on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for its failure to observe in full commitments which it had given earlier to allow the competition authority to terminate an (...)
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Today, the European Commission (the Commission) started a market test inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by Aspen Pharmacare Holdings (Aspen) to address the Commission’s concerns over excessive pricing for a range of off-patent cancer medicines (see, attached (...)
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On 1 June 2020, the Italian competition authority (“L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato”) authorised a scheme that would allow disposable surgical masks to be distributed and sold in pharmacies and health product retail outlets (see, attached press release). It did so at the (...)
