Pharmaceutical firms operating in the UK and EU face unique scrutiny due to national differences in regulatory frameworks, enforcement approaches, and market structures. The increasingly complex interplay between regulation, innovation, and industry dynamics has led the European Commission and other regulators to advance novel theories of harm in their reviews of pharmaceutical transactions.
In an Analysis Group feature, Managing Principal Joshua White and Manager Krisztina Horvath explore regulatory changes, examine emerging theories of harm, and discuss competition authorities’ potential concerns over mergers involving drug companies in the region. As competition policy approaches and frameworks continue to evolve, pharmaceutical companies in the UK and EU must position themselves with appropriate empirical evidence to navigate legal and economic complexities. The authors conclude that “[T]hose who can deploy robust analytical approaches to assessing jurisdiction-specific markets and economic effects will be better equipped to manage risk and gain a competitive advantage” across Europe.
Associated People
Krisztina Horvath
Dr. Horvath applies microeconomics, econometrics, and statistical analysis to complex competition and intellectual property matters. She has managed case teams and led quantitative analyses in high-stakes litigation and regulatory proceedings across Europe and the US. Dr. Horvath has extensive experience in abuse of dominance cases, merger review, follow-on damages litigation, and state aid proceedings. She also has significant experience in intellectual property disputes, including in damages assessments. Dr. Horvath has advised clients in industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, insurance, transportation, aviation, digital platforms, and chemicals. Her academic research has been presented at industrial organization and health economics conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Prior to joining Analysis Group, Dr. Horvath taught econometrics at Boston College.
Joshua White
Mr White is a consulting and testifying economist who specialises in applying microeconomics and sophisticated econometric modelling to complex litigation and merger-related questions, primarily in matters involving the health care, financial services and technology industries. He has supported clients in various jurisdictions and industries in follow-on competition damages litigation, assessing overcharge, upstream and downstream pass-on and volume effects. He has served as a testifying expert in the UK Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Amsterdam District Court on competition cases.
Mr White has supported high-profile companies with complex merger reviews across multiple jurisdictions, including in the Veolia/Suez, LVMH/Tiffany, Sika/MBCC and Eutelsat/OneWeb mergers. He has also provided evidence to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission (EC), including on behalf of clients involved in cartel investigations, abuse of dominance investigations and mergers. Mr White has also provided support to European financial and competition regulators in coordinated conduct investigations.
Mr White has extensive experience addressing competition and intellectual property (IP) issues in matters related to cutting-edge pharmaceutical products and FRAND licensing questions. As part of this work, he has supported a number of scientific and technical experts in front of courts and regulatory bodies. He also regularly supports pharmaceutical clients on competition issues around market access, pricing, denigration and competition from generic manufacturers.
Mr White has worked in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US. His writing has been published in an array of journals, including the Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, the Competition Law Journal and the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, and he regularly speaks at international competition law and policy conferences.