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Aventa, which is owned by Agostini Limited, is said to be monopolising the pharmaceutical market in the country, creating a situation of anti-competitive behaviour.

The accusation comes from the Private Pharmacy Retail Business Association, which has raised the matter with the Fair Trading Commission.

But the Commission's response has come under serious scrutiny at the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament.

Alicia Boucher has more in this report.
Transcript
00:00According to President of the Private Pharmacy Retail Business Association, Glenwayne Suchet,
00:05a serious monopoly exists in the pharmaceutical market through Aventa,
00:10a pharmaceutical distributor under Agostini Limited.
00:14Superfarm and M-Farm are also owned by Agostini Limited.
00:18Actually, Aventa controls 74% of the pharmaceutical private market.
00:23Two companies, Aventa 34% and Bryden 50%,
00:27they control 50% of the tender market for public procurement.
00:33Suchet says 70% of the wholesale market is collectively controlled by Aventa and two other entities.
00:40The Association for the States that of around 900 essential drugs,
00:44such as those to treat cancer, diabetes and other illnesses,
00:49Aventa is in control of about 700 of those.
00:52The Association says that there are around 500 independent pharmacies
00:56and according to Suchet, they are disadvantaged because of Aventa's distribution to its own retail chains,
01:03as well as being the distributor to small pharmacies,
01:07which are said to rely on Aventa for around 74% of their overall stock.
01:12Suchet has told the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee
01:16that during the COVID-19 pandemic, when vitamin C was in high demand,
01:21independent pharmacies were denied Redoxon.
01:23On the grounds that the accountant at Aventa will not sell to pharmacies
01:30and take the risk of selling and not getting payment in time
01:35and sell all to superfarm, that is unfair trading.
01:39The Association further alleges that in some cases,
01:43they are forced to purchase pharmaceuticals at a higher wholesale price
01:46than the retail price at which Agostini-owned pharmacies sell the drugs at.
01:51The Association wrote to the Fair Trading Commission seeking intervention
01:55but did not lodge a formal complaint,
01:58which PAAC Chairman Jagda was saying notes shouldn't be an issue.
02:02Would you not agree with me
02:03that there is no statutory requirement for any formal complaint to be made?
02:10The Commission, although outlining in its second letter to the Association
02:26that there were grounds for a prima facie case,
02:29requested that the Association send information,
02:32including documentation on the companies in question,
02:34instead of launching an investigation.
02:37You seek to shift the onus on the complainant?
02:40How is that even possibly tenable?
02:43We also have to recognise the resource limitations that the Commission faces.
02:49I beg your pardon, Mr Narain Singh?
02:52And we need to investigate, we need an alignment,
02:56it's an ecosystem, so to speak,
02:58where we need the cooperation of the entities as well.
03:02All right, you need the cooperation of which entities?
03:04The entities that have concerns.
03:07Executive Director of the Commission,
03:09Bevan Narain Singh, has been taken to task.
03:12As Singh says the Commission has the power
03:14to request the privately held documentation,
03:17it was asking the Association to acquire from the companies in question.
03:21Narain Singh, in turn,
03:22blames the lack of action on the Commission
03:24not having a board since May of this year.
03:27For one to go on and act
03:30for a person without the authorisation of a board,
03:35one has to be very careful to do that
03:37and to launch an investigation.
03:39We have never launched an investigation of this nature before.
03:42The Commission has been asked by the PAAC
03:45to provide detailed information
03:47on all of the steps it took
03:49since the matter was brought to its attention.
03:52Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:54For more information, visit www.fema.org.
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