STAT+: European Commission reaches deal with Vifor for ‘disparaging’ its only rival in iron deficiency market
Following a two-year probe, the European Commission has formalized a proposal from Vifor Pharma to resolve allegations that the company spread misleading information about a rival treatment to its blockbuster drug for iron deficiency.
The move came after a complaint that Vifor may have disparaged its “closest and, potentially, only” competitor to its Ferinject medicine in the European market. Specifically, the global drug company was accused of running a “misleading communication campaign,” primarily targeting health care providers, about a treatment sold by Pharmacosmos, a small, family-run company based in Denmark.
Approximately 1.8 million patients suffering from iron deficiency are currently being treated with high-dose intravenous iron products annually in the European Economic Area, which includes all 27 countries in the European Union, plus three others. At the time that the investigation began, the EC indicated the misinformation campaign had existed for many years.
