Sandoz files EU anti-dumping complaint over Chinese antibiotics

Swiss pharmaceutical group Sandoz said Thursday it had filed an anti-dumping complaint with the European Union over imports of Chinese ingredients to make amoxicillin, a widely used antibiotic.

Sandoz, one of the world's biggest producers of generic drugs, said it had uncovered "clear signs of market-distorting behaviour" including below-cost pricing and state subsidies for Chinese exports to Europe.

Such support threatens amoxicillin production in Europe by making it impossible to compete, the company said, in what it called the first such anti-dumping case in the pharmaceutical sector in decades.

"The reality is that up to 90 percent of global antibiotic active pharmaceutical ingredients are now produced outside Europe, primarily in China. This is a crucial strategic vulnerability," chief executive Richard Saynor said in a statement.

"Current market conditions do not reflect fair competition -- they systematically disadvantage resilient European production -- risking the loss of critical manufacturing capacity," he said.

AFP

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