London, 23 May 2025 — The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a non-confidential version of its decision to accept commitments from Vifor Pharma, marking the formal closure of its investigation into the company’s conduct in the market for intravenous (IV) iron treatments.
The CMA opened its investigation in January 2024 amid suspicions that Vifor Pharma may have abused a dominant position in breach of UK competition law by disseminating potentially misleading communications about rival IV iron products, notably Monofer, in comparison to its own drug Ferinject.
Following a year-long probe, including extensive information gathering and public consultation, the CMA announced today that it will not proceed with formal enforcement action after accepting commitments from Vifor Pharma designed to address the competition concerns.
Under the agreed commitments, Vifor Pharma will:
- Make a voluntary payment of £23 million to the NHS to reflect potential harm caused by the conduct;
- Correct any potentially misleading communications made about the safety of Monofer and Ferinject via a multi-channel outreach campaign targeting healthcare professionals; and
- Implement robust compliance measures to prevent the recurrence of similar conduct, including stricter internal controls on promotional and comparative communications.
The CMA had consulted publicly on the proposed commitments between 10 December 2024 and 17 January 2025, inviting feedback from third parties. After reviewing the submissions, the regulator concluded that the commitments sufficiently addressed the concerns raised and therefore opted to close the case without finding a formal infringement.
The decision underscores the CMA’s willingness to resolve complex pharmaceutical investigations through commitments where appropriate, while securing redress for public healthcare providers like the NHS and ensuring future compliance in sensitive markets.
Vifor Pharma did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
