The European Commission has fined Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. and its subsidiary Alchem International (H.K.) Limited (together ‘Alchem') €489,000 for breaching EU antitrust rules. The Commission has found that, for more than 12 years, Alchem participated in a cartel concerning an important pharmaceutical ingredient.

In October 2023, the Commission adopted a settlement decision and imposed fines totalling €13.4 million against six companies for their participation in the same cartel. Alchem decided not to settle this cartel case with the Commission, unlike the other participants. As a result, and in line with its usual practice, the investigation against Alchem continued under the standard cartel procedure. The Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Alchem in June 2024.

The investigation

Alchem is a producer of the pharmaceutical ingredient N-Butylbromide Scopolamine/Hyoscine (‘SNBB'), an important input material to produce the abdominal antispasmodic drug Buscopan and its generic versions. 

The Commission's investigation revealed that Alchem coordinated and agreed to fix the minimum sales price of SNBB to customers (i.e., distributors and generic drug manufacturers) and to allocate quotas. In addition, Alchem exchanged commercially sensitive information.

The Commission's investigation revealed that Alchem participated in a single and continuous infringement in the European Economic Area (‘EEA'), spanning from 1 November 2005 to 12 February 2018.

“Our investigation showed that Alchem, the only producer who chose not to settle, illegally coordinated prices and allocated quotas for more than 12 years. Today's decision underscores the crucial role of competition as the key to unlocking affordable access to essential medicines,” said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

This is the first cartel that the Commission sanctioned in the pharmaceutical sector and in relation to an active pharmaceutical ingredient. The Commission cooperated and coordinated certain investigative activities with the Swiss and Australian competition authorities.