Cleary Gottlieb represented Lundbeck in appeals before the EU General Court and the EU Court of Justice against the EU Commission’s decision in the Article 101 TFEU investigation concerning the legality of so-called reverse payment settlement agreements.
In June 2013 the EU Commission fined Lundbeck approximately €94 million, stating that Lundbeck and generic drug companies violated EU competition law by agreeing not to enter the market in return for substantial payments from Lundbeck. This is the first case decided by the EU Commission dealing with reverse payment settlement agreements.
On September 8, 2016, the General Court upheld the Commission’s decision and ruled for the first time that reverse payment settlement agreements in the pharma industry breach EU competition rules. The General Court’s findings were appealed. In March 2021, the Court of Justice dismissed the appeal.