Articles

On 24 April 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) announced a landmark decision imposing fines totaling over €11.2 million on three major pharmaceutical companies for their involvement in a long-running anti-competitive arrangement concerning the placement of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in Belgian pharmacies. This decision is the first of its kind in the EU, setting a precedent for future competition law enforcement in category management practices.

The intersection of pharmaceutical advertising, consumer protection, and internal market freedoms remains a complex legal battleground within the EU. In Apothekerkammer Nordrhein v. DocMorris NV (C-517/23), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) revisited the meaning of ‘advertising of medicinal products’, clarifying how far national restrictions on pharmaceutical advertisements can go under EU pharmaceutical law and internal market principles.

Informing healthcare professionals about the latest findings from studies related to medicinal products is crucial for ensuring effective and safe patient care. Access to the most recent scientific knowledge allows physicians to better understand the effects and potential side effects of medications, leading to more informed prescribing decisions.

The new Belgian federal government has outlined its vision for public health in a policy paper under the slogan “More money for health, more health for our money”. Public health is a high-priority sector with a significant budget, and the policy paper introduces several key measures that will shape the pharmaceutical industry in the coming years. For pharma companies operating in Belgium, these developments bring both new regulatory challenges and strategic opportunities. Here is a focused analysis of ten key changes and their potential impact on the pharma industry.

Misleading claims (so-called “denigration”) about competitors’ medicinal products or devices may be illegal, as several recent cases from the European Commission and national competition authorities illustrate. Even if the allegations are not incorrect in themselves, their totality and framing (“what is not said”) can still cross the line. Companies must be very careful with this type of “information campaigns”.