Brussels, 4 July 2025 – The European Commission has fined Indian pharmaceutical company Alchem International Pvt. Ltd. and its Hong Kong subsidiary €489,000 for participating in a long-running cartel involving the price-fixing of an essential drug ingredient.
Alchem was found to have illegally coordinated minimum sales prices and allocated quotas for N-Butylbromide Scopolamine/Hyoscine (SNBB)—a key active ingredient in the antispasmodic drug Buscopan and its generics—over a 12-year period from 2005 to 2018. The company also exchanged sensitive commercial information with cartel participants.
This marks the first time the European Commission has sanctioned a cartel involving an active pharmaceutical ingredient. The infringement covered the entire European Economic Area and was classified as a single and continuous violation of EU competition law.
Alchem chose not to settle the case alongside six other companies, which were fined a total of €13.4 million in October 2023. As a result, the Commission pursued a separate investigation under its standard cartel procedure, sending Alchem a Statement of Objections in June 2024.
“This decision underscores the crucial role of competition as the key to unlocking affordable access to essential medicines,” said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. “Alchem, the only producer who chose not to settle, illegally coordinated prices and allocated quotas for more than 12 years.”
The fine was determined using the Commission’s 2006 Guidelines, taking into account the value of Alchem’s SNBB sales, the nature and duration of the infringement, and its geographic scope. Alchem received no leniency or settlement discount, having declined to cooperate during the investigation.
The cartel probe was launched following a 2019 leniency application by C2 PHARMA, later supported by whistleblower submissions from other participants.
Affected parties may pursue compensation in national courts, with the Commission’s decision serving as binding proof of illegality under EU law.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1721
