Euro watchdogs intensify antitrust probe

The big antitrust investigation going on in Europe is just getting bigger. Watchdogs have started questioning distribution companies, trade groups, trading companies, and others.

Some who received questionnaires said the queries zeroed in on drugmakers' activities vis-a-vis parallel trade. Antitrust investigators want to know whether pharma is trying to quash those deals, under which wholesalers or trading companies buy meds in markets where they're cheap and resell them in countries where they're more expensive. The questionnaires also asked about direct-to-pharmacy distribution deals like those recently inked by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

- read the Wall Street Journal story

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