The court of appeal (CoA) has reinstated fines amounting to over £100m on several drug firms, overturning an earlier tribunal decision to block the fines “on procedural grounds” that it described as “unjust”. 

Quashing the competition appeal tribunal’s (CAT) decision in March to overturn fines on Actavis UK (now known as Accord UK) and Advanz for “cartel behaviour” with regard to hydrocortisone 10mg tablets, the CoA found last week that the tribunal’s method was “inappropriate in all the circumstances of this case”. 

The CAT had agreed with Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) 2021 finding that the companies had engaged in “flagrantly anti-competitive behaviour”.

The deal that was struck saw Actavis UK pay rival AMCo (now known as Advanz Pharma) not to bring its own hydrocortisone 10mg tablet product to the market, resulting in annual NHS spending on the product rising from around £500,000 to more than £80m.  

However, the CAT argued that because the CMA had “failed to observe due process” by not putting certain details of the case to former Advanz CEO John Beighton at trial, the £106m fines could not be levied on the firms. 

Following a successful appeal by the CMA, the court reinstated the fines, finding that the CAT’s decision to embark on a “fresh examination” of the case had been “inappropriate” and “unjust”. 

Separate fines amounting to £129m were not affected by the CAT’s decision, as the companies appeals against these sums had been refused at tribunal. 

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “The CMA imposed significant penalties on these firms after finding that they engaged in a market sharing agreement that denied the NHS the potential savings from firms competing for this essential medicine.  

“When the CAT decided the CMA’s decision should be set aside despite being correct on the merits, we remained determined to see the case through and took the fastest route to correct this. 

“We’re delighted that the court of appeal recognised that the CMA’s case was consistent, clear and fairly defended on appeal.”