FAS opened a case upon signs of a cartel at auctions for cardio products

Signs of violations are revealed at 357 auctions in 28 subjects of the Russian Federation in 2015-2017.

The case is opened against “Medprolife” Ltd., “Prommedzakupka” Ltd., “Medtorg” Ltd., “Invamed” Ltd. and “Micromed” Ltd. The companies are suspected of entering in an anticompetitive agreement to maintain prices at auctions for supplies of medical products, tools and expendables for treatment of cardio-vascular diseases at health care institutions in the Russian Federation.

The companies jointly participated in the auctions, determined the winners in advance between themselves, creating a veneer of competition, and allowed reduction of the initial maximum contract price at the auctions for no more than 3%. The potential cartel is one of largest. The sum of the initial maximum contract prices exceeded 2.5 billion RUB.

“Exposing and suppressing anticompetitive agreements in medicine are one of priorities in the FAS work”, said Stats-Secretary, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsarikovskiy.

“Cartels do  not only hamper access to high-quality medical care but also infringe the interests of the state since in the absence of competition at the auctions the budget carries increased costs for acquiring medical products necessary for health are institutions”, added Head of FAS Anti-Cartel DepartmentAndrey Tenishev.