MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's competition watchdog has slapped a 39 million-euro ($38.45 million) fine on U.S.-based Merck & Co Inc for anti-competitive behaviour in a case brought by Spanish rival Insud Pharma over a contraception device.
The CNMC antitrust agency said in a statement on Tuesday Merck's local unit, which had a monopoly on vaginal contraceptive rings in Spain between 2002 and 2018 with its Nuvaring device, prevented Insud Pharma in 2017 from marketing its own device through deceptive practices.
Merck Sharp (OTC:SHCAY) & Dohme (MSD), the official name of Merck & Co outside the United States and Canada obtained a court order barring Insud Pharma from manufacturing the devices in Spain, where it has all its operations, hence preventing sales all over the world, the CNMC said.
"MSD deployed a strategy of deception with the court, hiding relevant factual and technical information," it said, calling it a very serious infringement that constituted an abuse of dominant position.
Neither MSD nor Insud Pharma returned messages seeking comments.
($1 = 1.0143 euros)