CCI can’t probe anti-competitive conduct involving patented drugs: NCLAT
Tribunal says Patents Act prevails over Competition Act for patent-based restrictions; upholds closure of complaint against Vifor’s FCM
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has held that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) lacks jurisdiction to investigate alleged anti-competitive conduct relating to patented pharmaceutical products, ruling that such matters fall within the domain of the Patents Act, 1970. A Bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna and Ajai Das Mehrotra dismissed an appeal challenging the CCI’s 2022 closure of a case against Vifor International AG concerning Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM).
The appellant had alleged abuse of dominance by Vifor through supply limitations and high pricing of FCM, claiming violations of Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act. The CCI had found Vifor’s short-term licences to Emcure and Lupin neither unreasonable nor anti-competitive, and NCLAT agreed, further holding that where the alleged abuse arises from exercise of patent rights, the Patents Act prevails.
NCLAT referenced the Supreme Court’s September 2, 2025 dismissal of CCI’s appeal from the Delhi High Court in a related matter, affirming that CCI had no power to conduct the impugned investigation. It also cited Section 3(5) of the Competition Act, which protects reasonable conditions imposed by patent holders for IP protection. With the FCM patent having expired in October 2023, the Tribunal noted the molecule’s entry into the public domain, leaving no scope for further competition-law intervention, and dismissed the appeal.