Switzerland believes EDD drug firms have been price fixing

This one should prove interesting and as the article states if proven there, it could reach out to the UK and the US as well, and they have a month to answer. The drug companies have denied any wrong doing, so we’ll have to wait for the next chapter, or see if someone develops a generic alternative any time soon. BD

Swiss antitrust officials have charged the three leading makers of erectile dysfunctional drugs of a price-fixing cartel. The three are Bayer (Levitra), Pfizer (Viagra), and Eli Lilly (Cialis). According to the Swiss officials, the three companies set and enforced similar "recommended prices" for their drug that resulted in no price competition, higher prices, and higher profits.

Erectile function drugs form a very hot growth area, Eli Lilly and Pfizer sales have been rising steadily with each having well over a billion dollars in sales annually, while Bayer's Levitra has been losing ground, with annual sales around the $300 billion mark. The three form a very tight oligopoly, with few alternatives that match the efficacy and ease-of-use of these pills.

http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2009/02/15.html#a1301