On March 4, 2021, the Commission launched a formal in-depth investigation into Teva’s patent filings conduct related to its blockbuster multiple sclerosis medicine, Copaxone.[1] This is reportedly the first time that the Commission investigates potential abuses relating to divisional patents filing strategies.[2] This announcement, together with the recent formation, on March 16, 2021, of a multilateral working group on pharmaceutical mergers with leading competition authorities, confirms the Commission’s continued interest in the pharmaceutical sector.[3]

On February 25, 2021, the Court of Justice held that the Commission and the Slovak competition authority did not infringe EU law when conducting two parallel investigations against Slovak Telekom.[1] Because the two investigations pertained to different product markets, regulators at the European and national level were entitled to proceed in parallel and eventually impose two distinct fines on Slovak Telekom.

On February 23, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) made legally binding the commitments offered by Italgas Reti S.p.A. (“Italgas”), a company active in the gas distribution sector in the province of Venice, which belongs to the Italgas group (the “Decision”).[1] Italgas’ commitments were found to address adequately the ICA’s concerns that the company may have abused its dominant position in the local market for the provision of natural gas distribution services, in violation of Article 102 TFEU. According to the ICA’s decision to open the investigation, Italgas’ conduct was allegedly aimed at delaying the launch in 2018 of an open tender procedure for the provision of gas distribution services in a number of municipalities in the province of Venice (the “Tender”).

In a ruling dated February 17, 2021, the Cour de cassation dismissed an appeal formed against an order dated June 2019, in which the Paris Court of Appeals confirmed that the FCA could validly initiate an investigation and carry out dawn raids on the basis of a request for inspection issued by the competition authority of another EU Member State.