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United Kingdom
Key definition
Abuse of dominance definition

What does Abuse of dominance mean? Abuse of dominance describes anti-competitive conduct by an undertaking with substantial market power that harms competition or consumers by excluding rivals or exploiting customers. It is prohibited in the UK by the Competition Act 1998, s.18 (the Chapter II prohibition), which catches abuse that may affect trade within the United Kingdom; in Ireland by the Competition Act 2002, s.5, and by Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) where trade between Member States is affected. In competition law, the scope of “dominance” and “abuse” is mainly developed in case law. Assessment turns on market...

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UK CMA closes MSD Remicade discount scheme abuse of dominance investigation with ‘no grounds for action’ decision (Article 102/Chapter II) – 14 March 2019

Practice notes
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CASE HUB ARCHIVED – this page captures the status as at the 14 March 2019 decision and is not being updated. For more, see the timeline, commentary and related cases.

Case facts Outline

CMA Article 102 TFEU/Chapter II probe concerning Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited, regarding suspected Abuse of dominance via an anti-competitive discount programme for Remicade (a type of biological medicine known as infliximab).

Latest developments

On 14/03/2019, the CMA ended the case and delivered a ‘no grounds for action’ decision. This followed the case decision group’s view that MSD’s scheme was not likely to restrict competition from rivals.

Parties

Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) is a pharmaceutical company, ultimately owned by Merck & Co., Inc., a US-based global pharmaceutical group, and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Background

The CMA commenced its investigation on 1 December 2015. A statement of objections was sent on 23 May 2017 to MSD and its...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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