In the latest development in the long-running case pitting Novartis and Roche against the Italian competition authority over a fine imposed in 2014, the Court of Justice of the EU has confirmed that the firms’ arrangement over Avastin and Lucentis could constitute a serious restriction on competition if it involved the dissemination of misleading information. The case now goes back to the Italian court.

While the EU attempts to accelerate the pace of its unified approach to vaccine roll-out, some eastern European countries are taking their own decisions.

The pharmaceutical industry and other stakeholders have taken part in the launch event for a new initiative intended to tackle issues that have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as supply chain resilience and medicine shortages. The project has drawn a mixed response from industry bodies.