The Competition Council has fined pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim RCV Gmbh & Co KG (Austria) with 128.470 million RON (25.81 million euros) for abuse of a dominant position on the Romanian market of medicines intended for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a press release.The competition authority found that, over 2017-2021, Boehringer Ingelheim RCV Gmbh & Co KG limited market access to the generic medicine Spiriva (cheaper) and directed patients to Spiolto Respimat, an innovative, more complex and more expensive medicine.According to the Therapeutic Guide in force at that time and the national protocol, not all patients affected by COPD have a more complex medicine as their first treatment option (dual therapy), some of them having the medicine Spiriva and implicitly its generic versions (monotherapy) as their initial indication.Boehringer Ingelheim RCV Gmbh & Co KG has carried out an intensive communication and promotion strategy to influence doctors' decisions so that they will prescribe the drug Spiolto Respimat more widely.In this way, the company intended to make it more difficult to sell competing generic drugs similar to Spiriva and to direct the revenues generated by this product to the new drug Spiolto Respimat.Both drugs are reimbursed 50% by the Health Insurance House, the difference being paid by patients.The clues that were the basis for triggering the investigation also included information received on the Competition Whistleblower Platform, a tool through which violations of the Competition Law can be brought to the attention of the authority, anonymously. The platform can be accessed at https://report.whistleb.com/ro/consiliulconcurentei.
Romanian deep-tech startup .lumen, the developer of what it says are the world’s first AI-powered glasses for the blind, has secured a new investment from EIT Urban Mobility, the European innovation community focused on advancing sustainable and inclusive urban mobility solutions. The value of the new funding round was not disclosed. The investment aligns with […]
The health spending per capita in Romania was the lowest in the EU, with spending less than half the EU average in 2023, the recently released report, State of Health in the EU - Romania Country Health Profile 2025, shows. At the same time, life expectancy in Romania is 5.1 years below the EU average, […]
Romania’s annual inflation rate stood at roughly 9.8% in November 2025, similar to October, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Food prices increased by 7.6% last month, while services rose roughly 11% and non-food goods climbed 10.7%. The consumer price index rose by 0.42% in November compared with October, while […]
Three French soldiers deployed in Romania as part of NATO’s Multinational Battle Group at Cincu intervened to save a truck driver following a serious traffic accident on the A3 Bucharest–Ploiești motorway, the Romanian Ministry of Defense said. The incident occurred earlier this week as the soldiers were traveling toward Ploiești and witnessed the truck crash...
Eight contemporary art galleries will present the works of the artists they represent at the third edition of the Smallest Art Fair in Town, an event dedicated to works on paper. This edition showcases works “investigating the state of wandering, disorientation, and rediscovery in the face of uncertainty.” Under the title In Dark Woods, A […]
Parents everywhere are asking an important question: What skills will truly prepare a child for a world defined by rapid change, global uncertainty, and the rise of artificial intelligence? For decades, schools focused entirely on academics. Today, research from neuroscience, performance psychology, and leading universities shows a different reality: The students who thrive long-term are […]
