The EU Court of Justice dismisses pharmaceutical company’s appeal against the Commission and EU General Courts’ findings that it abused its dominant position by misusing patent systems and pharmaceutical marketing procedures to exclude generic competitors from the market and restrict parallel imports (AstraZeneca)

1. Introduction The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has dismissed AstraZeneca's appeal against the Commission's and General Court's findings that the company abused its dominant position under Article 102 TFEU by misusing the patent system and pharmaceutical marketing procedures in order to exclude generic competitors to its ulcer drug Losec from the market and to restrict parallel imports of the drug. The ruling fully supports the Commission's analysis in respect of two novel abuses, which have now firmly been added to the non-exhaustive list of abuses of Article 102 TFEU. 2. Background In June 2005 the EU Commission fined AstraZeneca €60 million for having abused its dominant position under Article 102 TFEU on the market for proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) used for gastro-intestinal