A Turkish court overturned a decision by the national antitrust regulator that two years ago fined Roche and Novartis more than $30 million for conspiring to spread misinformation about an eye treatment, a rare victory for the companies after legal setbacks elsewhere.
In response to appeals filed by both drugmakers, an administrative court in Ankara, Turkey, determined that the Turkish Competition Board failed to demonstrate that Novartis and Roche colluded illegally to promote the eye medication. As a result, the antitrust watchdog was instructed to repay the fines to both companies.
At issue is the Lucentis treatment, which is used to combat age-related macular degeneration, a common disease among older adults that can lead to blindness. However, an older and cheaper cancer medication called Avastin is often repackaged by physicians to treat the eye disease, even though it is not approved for that use.
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