(Bloomberg) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is set to be hit with an antitrust fine from the European Union over allegations it tried to talk down rival makers of a multiple sclerosis drug.
The bloc’s executive arm is also prepping the fine over concerns it illegally delayed competition to its multiple sclerosis medicine, Copaxone, according to people familiar with the matter.
Abusive tactics from some of the world’s pharmaceutical giants have been in the EU’s crosshairs for several years. Vestager has previously warned that major players in the industry had been employing novel strategies to fight off the threat of fair competition, particularly at a time in which European and American pharmaceutical markets were becoming increasingly concentrated.
The regulator is set to impose the fine on Teva before the end of current competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s mandate in Brussels, though that timing could slip, the people said.
Teva’s American depositary receipts were down 1.7% by 12:50 p.m. in New York.
Spokespeople for Teva and the European Commission declined to comment. Reuters reported the fine earlier.
(Updates with European commission declining to comment in the last paragraph)
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