Overview

In the first such development in nearly three years, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced on 23 February 2010 that it had sent a statement of objections (SO) alleging abuse of a dominant position contrary to Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. There have been very few Chapter II investigations launched by the OFT in recent years.

An SO is the document in which the OFT sets out its case and gives the alleged infringer an opportunity to respond. The recipient of the SO was Reckitt Benckiser (RB). The OFT alleges that RB had sought to restrict competition to its Gaviscon brand, which is used for heartburn and indigestion, by withdrawing packs of Gaviscon Original Liquid (GOL) from NHS prescription lists.

The alleged reason for doing this was because the patent for GOL had expired. In such circumstances, a generic name is assigned to the drug. This means that doctors can search for a well-known branded product, but provide patients with an "open" prescription that lists its generic name. Pharmacies can then choose whether to dispense the branded drug or an equivalent cheaper generic medicine.

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