Attorneys of EPAM successfully defended Novartis Pharma (of Novartis Group) in the antimonopoly and legal proceedings in a dispute initiated by the antimonopoly authority to check the price of a drug, whose price had not been regulated.

Novartis AG holds the patent to Tyverb (lapatinib), a targeted cancer drug which is supplied by the Russian Novartis Pharma. Tyverb had not been put on the statutory list of vital and essential drugs (VED), whose prices shall be regulated by the state.

The FAS Russia received a claim from the Moscow Government as the Tyverb price increased. As a result, the FAS Russia initiated proceedings against Novartis Group on charges of setting monopoly prices for the drug.

The Firm’s lawyers managed to have those charges dropped, and the FAS Russia terminated its proceedings against Novartis Pharma AG. The court further accepted the Firm’s case and acknowledged that Novartis Pharma was not in breach of the antitrust laws.

Following those proceedings, effective 2019, Tyverb was put on the VED list, which Novartis Pharma had sought for several years.

The matter was handled by competition and litigation lawyers and supervised by EPAM Partner Anna Numerova.