The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to notify the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of its detection and disposal of illegal rebates in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors within 30 days.
The FTC said it would revise “guidelines on notifying illegal rebates in pharmaceutical and medical device areas” and implement them from Friday.
The antitrust watchdog has notified related ministries of illegal rebate disposal since it introduced the "dual punishment system of rebates." However, some cases were omitted because the notification was not obligatory but autonomously. Lawmakers also pointed out the problem in the National Assembly's audit of the health and welfare ministry.
According to the revised guidelines, FTC officials must notify the health-related ministries of their disposal of illegal rebates in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors within 30 days.
When the officials send the notices to the two ministries, they must also attach the original copies of the FTC resolutions barring special circumstances. It is aimed to provide the two ministries with full information needed for taking follow-up disciplinary measures, such as suspending licenses and lowering drug prices, the FTC explained.
The FTC officials will also maintain contact with related divisions in the health-related ministries after the notification to prevent their omission of follow-up measures and explain the cases if needed. Besides, the officials will cooperate as much as possible in providing data within the scope of the Fair Trade Act.
“We expect the revised guidelines to contribute to securing the effectiveness of interagency disciplines to eliminate illegal rebates by establishing active collaboration between ministries through the timely notification of FTC’s actions,” the commission said. “We will continue to monitor closely illegal rebates in pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors through close cooperation with related ministries and enforce law sternly when we detect legal violations.”