Bulletin No. 10 - Free Competition

Edition Nº 10

April, 2017

DIPREV within the National
Directorate of Free Competition

OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS PRESENT
«« Lawsuit against Absolute Monopolistic
«« Department of Price Information and
Verification (DIPREV) Practices by four companies
participating in the dairy market.
PAG. 2 PAG.4

PROJECTS IN NUMBERS
«« CABAMED in numbers
«« Update of the guide for the control of
PAG. 8
economic concentrations PAG. 3
«« Panama Online

2 Of Our Contributors

Department of Price Information • Assist in case studies and research, with
and Verification (DIPREV) adequate statistical information.

By: Diosa Barahona • Prepare and submit reports of the
significant indices or characteristics that
Head of the Department of Price Information and emerge from the processed data, in order
Verification. to propose possible uses of the information
as indicators of the industrial structure and
DIPREV is part of the National Free performance.
Competition Directorate (DNLC, acronym
in Spanish) and consists of 4 sections: Basic • Establish and organize electronic drug
Basket and Mass Consumption, Goods registration and processing mechanisms for
and Services Surveys (Special Surveys), medicines, to provide consumers with up-
Medications (where surveys and verifications to-date information.
are carried out) and Statistics.
• Organize and coordinate the registration,
Among the main functions we can mention: monitoring and evaluation of the local
market of those products that are part of
• Schedule and conduct periodic surveys the basic food basket to keep consumers
of the market, products and services, in informed.
order to keep consumers informed.
• Maintain a center for the collection,
• Organize and coordinate the registration processing and electronic ordering of
of prices and supply of the local market essential statistical data on the various
by segment, according to the various goods and services, basic basket and other
items, in order to inform consumers so items of the national economy, as an input
that they can discern and make informed for sectorial technical studies.
consumption decisions.
• Coordinate the shipment of overdue
• To coordinate, organize and periodically medicines, which have been withdrawn
carry out physical inventories of various from the market, at the national level of
agricultural items, in order to determine commercial establishments, to the Ministry
the necessity or not to promote special of Health, for subsequent destruction.
mechanisms to supply them, according
to national consumption. The above in The objective of DIPREV is to monitor prices,
communication with other government information on the supply of the local market
users. and the electronic record of data that provides
the necessary information to infer about the
• Maintain electronic information national commercial behavior.
systems that allow comparative studies
and comprehensive forecasts with greater
accuracy and precision on the economic
activity of the country.

Projects 3

Update of the guide for Panama Online
the control of economic
concentrations On March, the National Directorate of Free
Competition (DNLC, acronyn in Spanish) met
with the KPMG company staff, whose a consulting
company in charge of the project to enact the
government’s online procedures, through a portal
that will be called “Panama Online”, by the
initiative of the Government Innovation Authority
(AIG).

In the case of the DNLC, the procedures that will
initially enter this portal will be: onsultations on
feasibility and validation of increases in costs of
construction materials. The models and flowcharts
of the procedures that entered into this innovative
project were sent to the consulting company.

ACODECO is in the process of updating the guide
for the control of economic concentrations that has
been in force since July 16, 2009. In the last week
of April, the updated version will be submitted for
public comments and observations of the interested
public.

The central aspect of the update is to streamline
the process of prior verification, which before
the ACODECO is submitted voluntarily by the
economic agents who intend to concentrate, through
approval in two phases. In the first phase, which
should not exceed 30 calendar days since all the
information is available, a favorable concept will
be granted to attempts at economic concentration
that do not present competition problems.

Those economic concentration operations with
some potential risk to the competition process in
the markets involved will require a more detailed
analysis in the second phase, which will not exceed
60 calendar days, counted from the date of receipt
of the notification or the date on which the requested
additional information is received.

4 Present Panama hosted the annual
conference COMPAL III
Lawsuit against Absolute
Monopolistic Practices by four On March 30 and 31, 2017, Panama hosted
companies participating in the the Annual Conference of COMPAL III,
dairy market. where member countries and the donor, the

The Authority of Consumer Protection Secretariat of State for Economic Affairs of
and Competition Defense (ACODECO, Switzerland (SECO), reviewed the results and
acronym in Spanish) initiated an ex officio impact of program activities Implemented in
investigation into the alleged commission 2016-2017, the activities to be carried out in
of monopolistic practices against companies the period 2017-2018 and the prospects and
Nevada Products. De RL, Global Products future of the COMPAL program.
and Logistic Services, Inc., Dairy Industries
, SA, and Sociedad de Alimentos de Primera,
SA, consisting of establishing, coordinating
or coordinating positions or abstention in
public tenders, manipulating and fixing the
sale or purchase price of goods and services
(fortified dairy drinks) and, in addition,
the existing market by geographical area
(provinces) in the Short Price Bids (LA,
acronym in Spanish) carried out by the
Ministry of Education (MEDUCA, acronym
in Spanish), for the supply, transportation,
delivery and the onsite discharge of Fortified
Dairy Drinks for the Nutrition and Health
School Program at the national level in 2014
and 2015.

These companies were formally sued on
22 February 2017, before the competent
Courts, in order to declare the restrictive and
unlawful nature of the practices incurred by
the defendant companies.

The lawsuit was filed in the Ninth Civil
Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit of
Panama, specialized in Free Competition.

Present 5

This is a program of UNCTAD, which promotes Ibero-American Competition
sustainable systems of competition and Forum
consumer protection, strengthening relevant
institutions and fostering a better understanding
of the benefits of competition. COMPAL III
seeks to establish an autonomous program that
will work, even after 2018. In order to achieve
this, it will focus on two intervention strategies:
1) Consolidation of acquired capacities and
deepening of regional cooperation;
2) Private sector support and compliance with
the competition and consumer protection
regulations.

Currently, COMPAL members are Argentina, The ACODECO Administrator, Oscar García
Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cardoze, in the framework of the Ibero-
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, American Competition Forum held on April 6,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the 2017, in the city of Managua, Nicaragua, acted
Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. as moderator of the roundtable of international
cooperation. The Administrator highlighted the
The direct beneficiaries of COMPAL III will success of two regional cooperation programs
be: competition and consumer institutions; that have benefited officials from member
Entities executing competition and consumer countries of the forum: the Ibero-American
protection policies (judges and prosecutors); School of Competition organized by the National
Other relevant government agencies; The Commission of Markets and Competition in
private sector (in particular SMEs and business Spain and the Internship Program of The Federal
associations); Consumer associations and Commission of Economic Competition of
academic institutions. Mexico. He proposed to the speakers and members
of the forum to discuss the impact of cooperation
The event was attended by about 40 delegates in the fight against corruption, lessons learned
from various consumer protection and from the integration of competition agencies
competition agencies in Latin America. with sectorial regulatory bodies, and how
integration or strategic alliances with Consumer
Once again, the ACODECO hosts an Protection contribute to increasing the visibility
international event. of competition agencies.

Joaquím Hortalá, Secretary of the Council
of the National Commission of Markets and
Competition of Spain and Alejandra Palacios,
President of the Mexican Federal Competition
Commission, acted as speakers at the roundtable.

6 Present

65 Annual Meeting of the
American Bar Association
(ABA) on Competition Law

The Annual Spring Meeting of the American
Bar Association (ABA) was held in
Washington DC, United States of America,
March 28-31, bringing together lawyers,
competition authorities, private companies,
academics, government officials to exchange
information on issues related to competition
and consumer law and to discuss strategies to
improve cartel detection.

Among others, the following topics were
analyzed: Fundamentals of Competition Law,
consumer protection policy in the economy,
sanctions and tools for deterrence, 25 years
of the leniency program in the United States,
its progress and effectiveness, Compliance
programs, cases related to the defense of
competition and competition law in Latin
America.
The annual meeting was attended by over
2,000 competition experts.

Present 7

Digital Evidence - Taiwan

A team from ACODECO visited the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Justice in
Taiwan from April 10 to 15, with the purpose of knowing through work sessions related to
digital evidence in cases of competition in that country.

Among the topics covered in this visit are: The Development of Taiwan Competition Policy
and Law, TFTC’s Economic Analysis in Antitrust Cases, Related Rules and Regulations of
Digital Evidence in Taiwan, Taiwan’s Investigation Practices in Digital Evidence, Collection
Techniques of Digital Evidence, Preservation and Management of Digital Evidence, Analysis
on Digital Evidence.

8 In Numbers

CABAMED in numbers

In April 2013 an interinstitutional commission Since its implementation, CABAMED (basic
between the Ministry of Health (MINSA, basket of medicines) has led to a stabilization
acronym in Spanish), Social Security Fund in the prices of the 40 active that were included
(Caja de Seguro Social), The Gorgas Memorial in it, resulting from the competition that arises
Institute for Health Studies and The Authority from the comparison between generic and
of Consumer Protection and Competition reference products.
Defense (ACODECO) was formed in order
to enable consumers to manage pricing The following table shows the comparison
information on 40 active ingredients of of prices of 14 active principles for reference
different pharmacological groups so they had medicines of March 2017 with respect to
additional elements when purchasing their August 2013:
medicines, due to the important price rising on
the following days.

Comparison of Unit Price Minimum of the Basic Drug Basket (Reference), according to price monitoring carried out in
the main pharmacies in the province of Panama. Date: August 2013 vs March 2017

DESCRIPCIÓN INSUMO Producto Laboratorio Agosto 2013 Marzo 2017 Diferencia Diferencia
Marca Absoluta Relativa
AZITROMICINA 500 mg cápsula o comprimido (*) Pfizer 12.64 12.66
Zithromax 0.02 0%

CEFTRIAXONA SÓDICA 1 gramo I.M. vial (*) Rocephin Roche 33.70 34.17 0.47 1%

CIPROFLOXACINA, 500 mg tableta (*) Ciproxina Bayer 4.75 4.82 0.07 1%
Bactrim Roche 9.42 9.25 -0.17 -2%
TRIMETROPIN CON SULFA (COTRIMOXAZOL) Seroquel Astra Zeneca 2.43 2.44 0.01 0%
40mg/200mg/5ml suspensión pediátrica, frasco 100 ml Norvasc Pfizer 1.51 1.51 0.00 0%
QUETIAPINA FUMARATO 100 mg tableta Renitec MSD 1.47 1.52 0.05 3%
Zocor MSD 2.57 2.62 0.05 2%
AMLODIPINA 5 mg tableta (*) Tylenol J&J 0.12 0.11 -0.01 -8%
ENALAPRIL 20 mg tableta (*)
SIMVASTATINA 20 mg cápsula o comprimido (*) Tylenol J&J 0.12 0.11 -0.01 -8%

PARACETAMOL (ACETAMINOFEN) 500mg, tableta o

comprimido

PARACETAMOL (ACETAMINOFEN) 500mg, tableta o
comprimido

LORATADINA 10 mg comprimido Clarityne Schering 1.85 1.60 -0.25 -14%

GLIBENCLAMIDA 5 mg comprimido (*) Daonil Sanofi-Aventis 0.50 0.52 0.02 4%

HIDROXIDO DE ALUMINIO Y MAGNESIO 5.9 - 8.3% Maalox Sanofi-Aventis 6.52 6.77 0.25 4%
(Hidróxidos totales) gel o suspensión, Frasco 180 ml 4.28 4.31 0.03 1%
Pedialyte Abbott
SALES DE REHIDRATACIÓN LÍQUIDO, Frasco 400-
500 ml

(*) Estos medicamentos son intercambiables.
FUENTE: Monitoreo de Precios de ACODECO

In Numbers 9

In the comparison period, of the 14 active It is important to note that the drugs that are
ingredients, three medicines maintained their part of the CABAMED list, address the main
prices, four presented decreases and seven diseases of the Panamanian population.

increased.
Observing the behavior of prices of these 40

With respect to the price variation we have active principles in the 44 months since its
observed in generic products in March 2017 implementation, according to our database, we
with respect to August 2013, and taking into can conclude that this instrument has served to
account the same laboratory for this analysis, keep prices stable in most of them.

the following table shows a decrease in some

active principles ranging from 5% to 26%.

Comparison of Unit Price Minimum of the Basic Drug Basket (Generic), according to price monitoring carried out in the
main pharmacies in the province of Panama. Date: August 2013 vs March 2017

DESCRIPCION INSUMO Laboratorio Agosto 2013 Marzo 2017 Diferencia Diferencia
Absoluta Relativa

AZITROMICINA 500 mg cápsula o comprimido Medipan 4.52 3.45 -1.07 -24%
Cinfa 0.75 0.65 -0.10 -13%
CIPROFLOXACINA, 500 mg tableta (*) Apotex 0.30 0.27 -0.03 -10%
1.41 1.10 -0.31 -22%
NITROFURANTOINA 100 mg cápsula o comprimido Asofarma 6.50 5.25 -1.25 -19%
Chalver
QUETIAPINA FUMARATO 100 mg tableta Normon 0.25 0.22 -0.03 -12%
Normon 1.15 0.85 -0.30 -26%
GENTAMICINA 0.3% Gotas Oftálmicas, frasco 5 -10 ml 0.53 0.59 0.06 11%
Chile
ENALAPRIL 20 mg tableta Cinfa 0.22 0.21 -0.01 -5%

SIMVASTATINA 20 mg cápsula o comprimido (*) Calox 0.04 0.03 -0.01 -25%

METRONIDAZOL 500 mg óvulo vaginal Cipla 10.49 8.50 -1.99 -19%

DICLOFENACO SODICO 50 mg tableta, cápsula o comprimido Aldo Union 5.00 4.38 -0.62 -12%

(*) Rigar 3.45 3.25 -0.20 -6%
Normon 0.40 0.46 0.06 15%
PARACETAMOL (ACETAMINOFEN) 500mg, tableta o

comprimido

BECLOMETASONA DIPROPIONATO 50 mcg/inhalación,

solución inhalador, Frasco 100-200 dosis

SALBUTAMOL BASE O SULFATO AEROSOL libre de
CFC, equivalente a 100MCG por inhalación, Frasco
200 - 250 dosis
HIDROXIDO DE ALUMINIO Y MAGNESIO 5.9 - 8.3%
(Hidróxidos totales) gel o suspensión, Frasco 180 ml
OMEPRAZOL 20 mg cápsula con microesferas
gastroresistente

(*) Estos medicamentos son intercambiables.
FUENTE: Monitoreo de Precios de ACODECO