The Court of Justice of the European Union decides on the use off label of a medicine for economic reasons.

Abstract

The recent  judgment of the Court  of Justice of the European Union of january 23, 2018,  determined that  the agreement between the Roche  and Novartis pharmaceutical groups  aimed  at reducing ophthalmic uses of the drug Avastin® and increasing those  of Lucentis® in Italy,  could  constitute a restriction of the competition  «for  its  purpose». Following, we  will analyze  in  detail  the  background of  the case,  the  applicable  regulations and  the  content of the  judgement. Finally,  a review of the  current Spanish legal framework on  the  subject will  be made.