BRUSSELS, Feb 26: European Union regulators are investigating a number of drugmakers it suspects of preventing cheaper generic medicines reaching the market, in addition to four ongoing cases, the EU's competition chief said on Tuesday.

Antitrust regulators on both sides of the Atlantic oppose “pay-for-delay” deals where brand-name companies pay manufacturers of generic rivals to keep their medicines off the market. It can mean consumers ultimately paying more.

The European Commission, which acts as competition regulator in the 27-member EU, says such methods violate its rules against restrictive business practices and to prevent companies abusing their market power against competitors.

The EU executive, which has formally accused more than a dozen drugmakers over such practices as part of its four ongoing investigations, has identified more cases, Joaquin Almunia, the commission in charge, said.

“We have still some others in the pipeline,” Almunia told the Reuters Eurozone Summit.

“On the one hand, we need to create a framework to protect those who innovate and those who are owners of patents. Given the life of patents is not (unlimited), once the drug is transformed into generics, all citizens should have the right to benefit from lower prices,” he said.—Reuters