The Economics of Pay To Delay Deals

(by Farasat Bokhari) On Friday 12 Februrary 2016, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a £37.6 million fine with an additional £7.4 million imposed on partner drug manufacturers for engaging in a so-called ‘pay for delay’ or ‘pay to delay’ deal that lasted from 2001 to 2004 for its antidepressant drug Seroxat. As discussed in a recent blog by my colleague, Sven Gallasch, GSK have not admitted wrongdoing and may challenge the findings by arguing the arrangement was pro-competitive. Between 2000 and 2010 there were 57 pay to delay deals in the EU, and 66 just between 2008 and 2010 in the US. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says these deals cost US consumers $3.5 billion a year, but have attempted to challenge them with mixed results.[i] Pay to delay cases are relatively new in Europe and the GSK case is the first fine for the practice to be imposed by the CMA.

This blog discusses some of the key issues and incentives surrounding pay to delay deals and is aimed at stimulating further discussion.

The CMA’s first strike against pay for delay settlements in the United Kingdom

(By Sven Gallasch) On 12 February 2016 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its first infringement decision concerning so-called pay for delay settlements in the UK pharmaceutical market, imposing a fine of £ 44.99 million on the branded pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and a number of generic pharmaceutical companies including Generics (UK) limited and Alpharma Limited. This blog post considers whether drug companies’ claims that this practice is actually beneficial to customers have any merit.

Unfair purchasing practices and the Groceries Code of Conduct: the Tesco investigation

By Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui (University of Bergen). On 26 January 2016 the Groceries Code Adjudicator made public its investigation into Tesco plc concerning the possible breaches of the UK Groceries Code of Conduct. After an almost yearlong investigation the Adjudicator determined that Tesco had engaged in unfair purchasing practices prohibited by the Groceries Code of Conduct (“the Code”) by delaying payments that were due to its suppliers. Although the Adjudicator did not impose any financial fine on Tesco, it did issue five recommendations to be followed by the supermarket retail chain in order to prevent payment delays in the future. This blog discusses the Tesco case and its implications for future investigations.