European Union investigators on Wednesday raided the offices of a number of pharmaceutical companies, suspecting them of breaking EU rules on fair business, according to dpa. The European Commission said in a statement that "officials started surprise inspections at the premises of several companies active in the pharmaceutical industry in several member states." The EU has long aired suspicions that competition in the pharmaceuticals market is not working properly, with cheap generic drugs blocked or delayed, to the apparent benefit of their more expensive patented rivals. The commission is responsible for enforcing EU rules, and can fine companies up to 10 per cent of their global turnover if it judges that they have broken them. The executive "has reason to believe that the provisions of the (EU) treaty prohibiting restrictive business practices and/or the abuse of a dominant position ... may have been infringed," it said. However, commission officials stressed that the launching of the raids did not mean that they already had proof of illegal activity. "Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in the investigation of suspected anti-competitive practices. The fact that the commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself," the statement said. The commission"s record cartel fine was a 1.4-billion-euro (2.1- billion-dollar) penalty levied on a group of car glass makers in a case which ended in 2008.
