The Swedish Competition Authority's decision to prohibit Apotekstjänst's acquisition of Svensk dos remains in effect

"I am very pleased that the court has aligned with the Swedish Competition Authority and upheld the decision to prohibit Apotekstjänst’s acquisition of Svensk dos. The acquisition would have resulted in reduced competition in the market or hindered the development of effective competition, as Apotekstjänst would have gained a dominant position and the competitive pressure from its close competitor Svensk dos would have disappeared. This would have meant that the regions, which are included in the customer group purchasing packaged dose bags with medications, would have had even fewer suppliers to choose from," said Hanna Witt, Acting Director-General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

In November 2023, Apotekstjänst Sverige AB filed a notification to the Swedish Competition Authority regarding its acquisition of sole control over Svensk dos AB. The Competition Authority’s investigation showed that the acquisition would significantly impede the occurrence or the development of effective competition in the market for dose dispensing services for outpatient care in Sweden. In April 2024, the Swedish Competition Authority therefor decided to prohibit Apotekstjänst’s acquisition of Svensk dos.

Apotekstjänst appealed the Swedish Competition Authority’s decision to the Patent and Market Court. During the process, the seller Oriola Oyj also participated on Apotekstjänst’s side. Today, the Patent and Market Court dismissed the appeal, which means that the Swedish Competition Authority’s decision to prohibit the acquisition, under a penalty of SEK 100 million, remains in effect.

The parties involved in the acquisition had argued that the acquisition would not harm competition, partly because Svensk dos was likely to leave the market even without the planned merger. However, the Patent and Market Court, in line with the Swedish Competition Authority, concluded that there was no reason to assume an alternative counterfactual scenario in which Svensk dos would exit the market. Even if that were the case, there would be less restrictive alternatives than selling Svensk dos to Apotekstjänst.

Given, among other factors, patient safety concerns, the Patent and Market Court has stipulated that the prohibition, when it comes to Apotekstjänst’s application and fulfilment of a specific subcontractor agreement, will not apply until December 19, 2024.

The Patent and Market Court’s decision can be appealed to the Patent and Market Court of Appeal by December 10, 2024 at the latest.

Both Apotekstjänst and Svensk dos operate outpatient pharmacies licensed by the Swedish Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket) to carry out mechanical dose dispensing. This involves extracting tablets and capsules from their original packaging and repackaging them into specific dose bags intended for individual patients. Each dose bag contains the medications a patient is to take at a specific time.

Marie Strömberg Lindvall, Press Officer, +46 76 542 15 92, marie.stromberglindvall@kkv.se
Cecilia Widhagen, Acting Head of Unit, +46 8 700 15 20, cecilia.widhagen@kkv.se

Read more about the case (in Swedish)