11/11/2009 - Pharmaceutical company ordered to continue supplies to pharmacy and homecare provider

On 11 November Mr. Justice Lewison granted an injunction application brought by Intecare Direct Limited, a pharmacy and homecare services provider, against the pharmaceutical company, Aventis Pharma Limited (trading as Sanofi-Aventis), ordering Aventis to continue supplies to Intecare pending a further hearing in the matter.  The basis of the application was that, prima facie, Aventis was in a dominant position in the relevant market for the medicine in question (Copaxone used for multiple sclerosis patients) and was abusing that position in refusing to deal with Intecare, a customer for some time already, as well as in pressurising hospitals/patients not to deal with Intecare.  The Court concluded that the least risk of injustice lay in granting the order for supply pending a further hearing.