(Bloomberg) -- Mauritius’ antitrust agency is investigating potential price fixing and collusion in its pharmaceutical sector.
Importers and wholesalers that sell pharmaceutical products to retail pharmacies are suspected to have “illegally agreed to fix the wholesale markup” on goods, the Port Louis-based commission said in an emailed statement on Monday. The products are price controlled and their maximum markup is fixed by regulations.
While the investigation covers seven importers and wholesalers, more companies could be included as the probe progresses, the antitrust agency said.
In 2023, imports of medical and pharmaceutical products’ grew by about a 10th from the previous year to 8.5 billion rupees ($182.6 million). That amount represented about 3% of total imports for the year, according to Statistics Mauritius.
The island-nation provides free health care to its population of about 1.26 million people. Its Health and Wellness Ministry’s budget for the fiscal year through June 2025 is 17.2 billion rupees.
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