OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2009. The Tyumen Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (the Tyumen OFAS Russia) found that "Nikopharm" Pharmacy" Ltd. violated the antimonopoly legislation. The pharmacies owned by the company were selling vitally important medicines at overrated prices. Such actions of the pharmacy chain were in breach of the pricing procedures (Clause 10 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition"), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

By an Order of the Governor of the Tyumen Region issued an Order to set upper limits for the mark-ups for medicines in the Tyumen region has. The retail mark-ups to the medicines included in the List of vitally essential and most important medicines cannot exceed 30% or 35%. However, the pharmacies of "Nikopharm" Pharmacy" Ltd. were selling such medicines with the mark-ups reaching 50%, which are only allowed for the medicines that are not vitally essential. It is allowed to sell.

At the OFAS meeting on the case, a representative of "Nikopharm" Pharmacy" Ltd., that dominates the retail medicine market in the town of Ishim, admitted the company's fault. He explained overrated prices by wrongly interpreting the Order of the Governor of the Tyumen Region by the company, which had led to violating the antimonopoly legislation.

The Tyumen OFAS Russia issued a determination to "Nikopharm" Pharmacy" Ltd. requesting to eliminate the violation and its consequences.

The antimonopoly body discovered a similar violation by a Tobolsk company "Pharma", which was pronounced a violator on 24th September 2009.

"FAS Russia quarterly monitors retail prices for 100 medicines that are most needed by the population. The antimonopoly bodies conduct investigations in order to reveal whether increased prices for medicines were justified, and to identify the causes for increasing prices by wholesale sellers (distributors) and manufacturers / importers", said Timofey Nizhegorodtsev, the Head of the FAS Russia's Department for Control over Social Sphere and Commerce.