Pinewood Laboratories Limited
Advising Pinewood Laboratories Limited on the first fine for an abuse of dominance case by the OFT since 2003.
On behalf of our client, Pinewood Laboratories Limited, we complained to the OFT about Reckitt Benckiser whose actions stifled competition from a generic alternative to its market-leading heartburn medicine, Gaviscon. Although the OFT receives many complaints about alleged anti-corruptive behaviour, very few are actually taken up. In this case, we persuaded the OFT to invest time and resource investigating the case.
As a result, in October 2010, the OFT announced the first fine for an abuse of dominance case since 2003, after Reckitt Benckiser admitted liability and agreed to pay a fine of over £10.2m. Against the budget constraints facing the NHS, this decision will have far-reaching implications.