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 finance minister Alexandru Nazare said Thursday, July 3, that the government’s new fiscal package had been negotiated with the European Commission and could receive a favorable assessment if adopted before the upcoming ECOFIN Council meeting,
Romanian journalist Ioana Dogioiu will take on the role of spokesperson for the government, the executive announced on Thursday, July 3. The appointment, it said, aims to strengthen dialogue between the government and society “in a climate that demands transparency, clarity, and trust.” “I thank Ms. Ioana Dogioiu for accepting this responsibility, which is far...
The passenger information system at Bucharest's North Railway Station (Gara de Nord), Romania's busiest train hub, malfunctioned Friday morning, July 4, according to an announcement from the national railway company CFR SA. At the time this story was published, display boards showing train arrivals and departures, the digital panels on platforms, and surveillance cameras inside […]
Two new investment funds active in Romania, Sparking Capital II and PCP SEE II, will receive allocations worth EUR 30 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, or PNRR, after an approval from the Romanian executive and the European Investment Bank. The allocations are mediated by the European Investment Fund, a European financial institution, […]
The net revenues collected by Romania’s tax agency ANAF for the state budget increased by 12.2% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching RON 245.2 billion (EUR 49 billion), said outgoing ANAF president Nicoleta-Mioara Cîrciumaru. Nevertheless, the net revenues collected by ANAF are RON 3.8 billion (EUR […]
Romanians continue to place the most trust in the Army and the Church, while Parliament remains the least trusted institution, according to the second edition of the Informat.ro – INSCOP Research Barometer conducted between June 20–26. The monthly survey was commissioned by the news platform Informat.ro in partnership with the Strategic Thinking Group think tank. […]
