Vifor Pharma: EU antitrust regulators accept Vifor Pharma's pledge not to disparage rival

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Monday accepted Australian group CSL unit Vifor Pharma's concessions to address potential anti-competitive behaviour towards a rival iron deficiency treatment medicine. Vifor's proposal came following a two-year investigation by the European Commission into its allegedly misleading marketing campaign regarding the safety of Danish rival Pharmacosmos' iron deficiency treatment Monofer that primarily targeted healthcare professionals. Monofer is the closest rival to Vifor's blockbuster Ferinject treatment. Vifor will "launch a comprehensive and multi-channel communication campaign to rectify and undo the effects of the potentially misleading messages previously disseminated by Vifor regarding the safety of Monofer", the EU competition enforcer said. It will "not engage in external promotional and medical communications, in writing or orally, about Monofer's safety profile using information that is neither based on Monofer's label nor derived from clinical trials specifically designed to compare Ferinject and Monofer across the entire EEA", the Commission said. Vifor's pledge is for 10 years. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)