EU clears German scheme to exempt pharma groups from price freezes
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Friday cleared a German scheme that allowed exceptions to be made for pharmaceutical groups whose medicines were subject to price freezes.
Germany introduced price freezes in the form of rebates granted by the producers of certain prescription medicines but also allowed for exemptions if companies could prove that this would put an unacceptable financial burden on them.
The Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the 28-member European Union, said that after an investigation it found no evidence that such exemptions constituted state aid.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)
