Competition Markets Authority
Remittal case timetable (Case 50908)
First published: 8 June 2020
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 21 July 2022 | Infringement Decision issued: unfair pricing abuses in relation to the supply of phenytoin sodium capsules in the UK |
| August 2021 | Statement of objections issued |
| March 2021 to June 2021 | Continued evaluation and assessment of the evidence |
| March 2021 | Decision to continue with the investigation |
| November 2020 to February 2021 | Continuing investigation, including information gathering and assessment of evidence |
| June to October 2020 | Initial investigation: information gathering, including issuance of formal or informal information requests and responses |
| June 2020 | Remittal investigation opened |
| 10 March 2020 | Court of Appeal judgment partially allowing the CMAs appeal and dismissing Flynns appeal in its entirety |
| 7 June 2018 | Competition Appeal Tribunal judgment setting aside the CMAs infringement decision and remitting the case back to the CMA |
Case timetable (Case C3/9742-13)
First published: May 2013
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 15 June 2017 | Publication of non-confidential version of infringement decision |
| December 2016 | Infringement decision issued |
| February 2016 to November 2016 | Consideration of parties written and oral representations on the statement of objections; further evidence gathering and analysis; issue of letters of facts; receipt and consideration of parties representations on letters of facts; decision on case outcome; preparation of decision |
| January 2016 | Oral hearings with parties on written representations on statement of objections |
| November/December 2015 | Receipt of written representations on the statement of objections |
| August 2015 | Statement of objections issued |
| August 2014 to April 2015 | Further investigation including further information requests and stakeholder meetings |
| August 2014 | Decision on next phase of the investigation in light of evidence received to date |
| August 2013 to March 2014 | Internal governance processes to inform next phase of the investigation |
| August 2013 to March 2014 | OFT analysis and review of responses to information requests |
| May to August 2013 | State of play meetings with parties under investigation |
| May to August 2013 | OFT analysis and review of parties responses to information requests |
| May to August 2013 | Initial investigation: information gathering, including issuance of formal or informal information requests and parties responses |
| May 2013 | Investigation opened |
Change log
The following changes have been made to the case timetable since it was first published in May 2013:
| Date of change | Reason for change | Change made to timetable |
|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2016 | Additional time to consider parties representations, decide case outcome and prepare decision | Issue of decision extended from September 2016 to November 2016 |
| 8 July 2016 | Additional time to consider parties representations and to decide case outcome | Issue of decision extended from August 2016 to September 2016 |
| 14 December 2015 | Additional time given to the parties to submit written representations | Period for written representations extended from October to November/December 2015 |
Infringement decision
21 July 2022: The CMA has found competition law breaches in relation to the supply of phenytoin sodium capsules in the UK.
- Press release: 70 million in fines for pharma firms that overcharged NHS (21.7.22)
Statement of Objections
5 August 2021: Following the Court of Appeals judgment, the CMA decided to re-investigate the matters remitted by the CAT, and opened its current investigation in June 2020. Having reconsidered these matters, on 5 August 2021 the CMA issued a statement of objections provisionally finding that the parties have infringed competition law by charging unfairly high prices for phenytoin sodium capsules.
Press release: CMA accuses pharma firms of illegal pricing (5.8.21)
Decisions on appeal
10 March 2020: The Court of Appeal has today handed down its judgment partially allowing the CMAs appeal and dismissing Flynns appeal in its entirety.
- Press release: CMA welcomes Court of Appeal judgment in Phenytoin case (10.3.20)
20 December 2018: Today, we learnt that the Court of Appeal granted the CMA permission to appeal the Competition Appeal Tribunals judgment of 7 June 2018 which partially set aside the CMAs decision that fined Pfizer and Flynn for charging excessive prices to the NHS for the sale of anti-epilepsy Phenytoin sodium capsules. See our original news story for more info:
- News story: CMA considers appeal in phenytoin case (7.6.18)
28 June 2018: The CMA has sought permission to appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunals judgment of 7 June in its excessive pricing case against Pfizer and Flynn Pharma. The application for permission to appeal was made to the Tribunal although, if granted, the appeal itself would be heard in the Court of Appeal.
7 June 2018: The Competition Appeal Tribunal announced its provisional judgment in an appeal against the CMAs infringement decision in this case. The Tribunal decided to remit the case back to the CMA for further consideration, after ruling against its finding of abuse. The CMA is considering an appeal.
- News story: CMA considers appeal in Phenytoin case (7.6.18)
Non-confidential infringement decision
15 June 2017: The CMA has published a non-confidential version of the decision in this case.
- (PDF, 3.2 MB) (15.6.17)
- News story: CMA publishes full decision in phenytoin case (15.6.17)
Infringement decision
7 December 2016: The CMA issued an infringement decision to Pfizer Limited and Pfizer Inc (collectively, Pfizer) and Flynn Pharma Limited and Flynn Pharma (Holdings) Limited (collectively, Flynn).
The CMA found that Pfizer and Flynn each abused their respective dominant positions by imposing unfair prices for phenytoin sodium capsules in the UK thereby infringing the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98) and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The CMA imposed a financial penalty of 84.2 million on Pfizer and 5.2 million on Flynn and directed both companies to reduce their prices.
- Press release: CMA fines Pfizer and Flynn 90 million for drug price hike to NHS (7.12.16)
Procedural Officer decisions
7 December 2016: The CMA has published Procedural Officer decisions concerning the investigation.
Penalty notice
12 April 2016: The CMA has published a