Swiss Federal Supreme Court Rules that Recommended Resale Prices of Pfizer Represent Unlawful Resale Price Maintenance

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (FSC) has concluded that recommended resale prices issued by Pfizer Ltd. (Pfizer) constituted unlawful resale price maintenance. Pfizer had made the recommended prices available to the pharmacies through a third-party database that was connected to the cash registers of the pharmacies. Pfizer had neither exercised pressure nor offered any incentives to adhere to the recommended resale prices. However, 89.3% of the pharmacies had fully or partly applied the recommended resale prices. The judgement raises doubts as to whether recommended resale prices are still lawful at all under Swiss competition law as the FSC relied heavily on the argument that the recommended resale prices had been repeatedly communicated to the pharmacies.

Bär & Karrer Briefing April 2021