# Abuse of Dominant Position, Effective Judicial Protection and Abuse of Procedure

## TL;DR

This paper examines a case where a pharmaceutical company was penalized for abusing its market dominance by blocking competitors.

## Contribution

The paper clarifies the boundary between legitimate legal protection and its misuse in antitrust law.

## Key findings

- Merck Sharp & Dohme was sanctioned for anti-competitive behavior in Spain.
- The paper highlights how judicial protection can be misused to maintain market dominance.
- It provides insights into distinguishing legal protection from abuse in competition law.

## Abstract

On October 21, 2022, the Spanish Competition Agency (CNMC) sanctioned the North American pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme for abuse of a dominant position. The practice for which it was finally sanctioned consisted of the adoption of a strategy aimed at delaying and making it difficult for another company to enter the Spanish medicines market in order to protect sales for a product marketed exclusively by that company and for which had a patent. This paper analyzes this resolution in an attempt to delimit the difference between the legitimate exercise of the right to effective judicial protection and its abuse.