Samuel Hall
Samuel Hall is an associate in the competition law practice of Van Bael & Bellis. He advises on both EU and UK competition law and has particular experience advising on issues which arise in the life sciences sector.
Before joining Van Bael & Bellis, Samuel worked in the Brussels and London offices of a well-known international law firm.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2019
Membership
- Solicitor, England and Wales
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (2017)
- Bachelor of Laws (European and International Law) (2015)
Education
- BPP Law School, London (2017)
- University of Sheffield (2015)
1 Contributions by Samuel Hall
PRACTICE NOTES
EU competition law in the pharmaceutical sector: market definition, pay-for-delay, pricing abuses, parallel trade, disparagement, regulatory misuse, R&D collaborations, merger control and killer acquisitions
This Practice Note
This Practice Note explains how EU competition law applies to common practices within the pharmaceutical sector. Given medicines’ vital role in safeguarding public health and the heavy cost they impose on national healthcare systems, the sector consistently faces scrutiny from the European Commission and national competition authorities. Behaviours that threaten patients’ access to innovative, affordable treatments therefore rapidly attract enforcement attention. Historically, the Commission has prioritised cases on ‘Pay-for-delay’/reverse payment patent settlements. The pharmaceutical sector also has features that set it apart: substantial and high-risk investment to bring a therapy to market; multiple decision-makers shaping therapy choices (eg healthcare professionals (HCPs), pricing and reimbursement authorities, insurers and hospitals); pervasive price controls; the central importance of intellectual property (IP) rights; intensive regulation; and pronounced public and political scrutiny. These conditions influence how market incentives and rivalry function in the pharmaceutical sector, and how EU and national competition authorities seek to oversee the sector and...
EU Law
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