Thailand's Supreme Administrative Court has upheld a decision by the Office of Trade and Competition Commission (OTCC) to reject a complaint by several Thai health advocacy organizations that an international pharmaceutical company had abused a dominant position, in breach of the Trade Competition Act 1999.
The complaint concerned the company's decision to withdraw its drug registration in 2007 after the Thai government had announced the compulsory licensing (CL) of its HIV medication. The OTCC had rejected the complaint, on the grounds that:
- the company's turnover fell below the current statutory turnover threshold of THB 1 billion (approximately USD 31 million), one of the criteria that needs to be fulfilled for a finding of dominance
- in any event, the withdrawal of the registration would not have constituted an abuse, as it did not prevent customers from accessing the product from outside Thailand
It should be noted that new criteria for defining dominance in Thailand are due to be announced by 5 October 2018, so businesses should monitor any changes to ensure compliance. Watch this space for further details in due course.
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