An Event Study of Perindopril (Servier) Reverse Payment Patent Settlements' Case: Is Krka Truly an Exception Within the Pay-For-Delay Commission Decision?

Abstract

The article aims to fill the gap in the literature on reverse payment patent settlements between patent-holders and generic pharmaceutical firms in EU competition law. Based on the event study of the Perindopril (Servier) case of the European Commission, the research provides a novel assessment of the welfare effects of Commission enforcement and the following judiciary decision on the legality of Commission sanctions. Within the case, the analysis paid particular attention to the generic corporation Krka because Commission fined Krka for the settlement with Servier that did not include the reverse payment, and the Commission decision did not survive the scrutiny of the General Court. The relative economic power of Krka in the perindopril market is also a factor that, together with the enforcement effect assessment, provides a different perspective of the event study's normative implications to the existing research.