Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates LPC has successfully defended pharmaceutical producer Astra Zeneca (Greece) against 8 separate civil actions brought by local pharmaceutical wholesalers in relation to alleged abuse of dominance infringement, by means of refusal of supply.
In a series of First Instance and Appeal Court decisions on civil actions brought by wholesalers against Astra Zeneca, the Courts assessed whether Astra Zeneca held a dominant position in the relevant markets, based on the ATC classification of defining the relevant product market. Through this method the Courts found that Astra Zeneca’s market shares did not suffice for dominance and therefore ruled that Astra Zeneca did not hold a dominant position in the relevant product markets. As a consequence, the Courts concluded that Astra Zeneca did not infringe Article 2 of the Greek Law 703/1977 (now Art.2 of Law 3959/2011).