JOHANNESBURG — Britain’s competition regulator has launched an investigation into Africa’s biggest generic drug maker Aspen Pharmacare over alleged anticompetitive conduct in the supply of blood pressure and arthritis drugs, Aspen said on Friday.
“The investigation is at an early, information-gathering stage and the [Competition and Markets Authority] CMA has confirmed that, at this time, it has not reached any conclusion on whether competition law has been infringed,” Aspen said in a statement.
Aspen said the drugs — Fludrocortisone acetate 0.1mg tablets and Dexamethasone 2mg tablets — under investigation by the United Kingdom CMA had a combined revenue of £11,1 million ($15 million) in Britain last year.
Shares in Aspen, based in Durban, have surged since 2008 on the back of its overseas expansion, as it benefits from the expiry of patents on best-selling drugs. — Reuters
