The National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) actions to promote competition in the celecoxib anti-inflammatory market led to significant price drops and substantial savings for consumers and the state. Between 2017 and 2024, the drug's price fell 56% in pharmacies and 97% in health services, enabling 11 additional laboratories to enter the market.
Chile's National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) intervened in the celecoxib market, a drug used to treat inflammation, chronic pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as acute pain. In 2015, the FNE launched an investigation against G.D. Searle, a Pfizer subsidiary, for 'evergreening' practices that artificially extended the exclusivity of the Celebra patent until 2029, blocking cheaper generic entries.
In 2016, the FNE filed a claim with the Free Competition Defense Court (TDLC), resulting in a settlement agreement. This required the company to grant free licenses to competitors, refrain from promoting secondary brands for two years, avoid legal actions tied to the secondary patent, drop existing lawsuits, end costly licensing contracts, and inform distributors and pharmacies about the deal.
The FNE's impact report shows these steps reshaped the market: laboratories increased from one in 2014 to 12 in 2024. Prices dropped 56% in retail channels and 97% in institutional ones, yielding cumulative savings of US$346.6 million from 2017 to 2024, or US$43.3 million annually. Projected to 2029, benefits could reach US$563.2 million.
National Economic Prosecutor Jorge Grunberg noted the agreement fixed a monopolistic distortion and built a competitive environment. Yet, the report points to information asymmetries hindering consumers' ability to select cheaper options. The FNE calculates that adopting its 2020 recommendation to default to the cheapest bioequivalent would have added US$98.5 million in savings. The agency intends to keep overseeing the pharmaceutical sector due to its effects on household budgets and public health.
