New Progress in China’s Anti-Monopoly Investigation into the Pharmaceutical Industry – Comment on the Injectable Polymyxin B Sulfate Case

Abstract China’s competition authorities imposed a record penalty in the pharmaceutical sector against four pharmaceutical companies for jointly abusing their market dominance and engaging in excessive pricing behavior. This incident caused widespread concern and controversy, and has raised questions about the fairness and transparency of the pharmaceutical industry. From the perspective of antitrust enforcement, the administrative penalty decision has significant value for discussion in several aspects, including the identification of the subjects engaged in joint abuse of market dominance, the delineation of the relevant market, the determination of excessive prices, the imposition of penalties, and subsequent corrective measures. Furthermore, the coordination and cooperation between the competition authorities and the health security authorities in this case also merit discussion. This opinion provides an overview of the grounds of the decision and a detailed analysis in the context of China’s anti-monopoly regulations and guidelines for the pharmaceutical sector.