To the European members of this forum......

What can you tell me about this:
EC launches major pharma industry probe
By Anna Lewcock

16/01/2008 - The European Commission has launched an investigation into the entire European pharmaceutical sector, with surprise raids on a number of manufacturers in a bid to unearth any evidence of foul-play hampering the launch of new medicines on the market.

Numerous pharma firms have been subject to unannounced inspections over the last 24 to 48 hours, with EC representatives turning up at company premises to root through documents in search of any incriminating paperwork.

The EC probe has been triggered in response to the significant drop in the number of novel medicines reaching the European market over recent years. From 1995 to 1999, for example, an average of 40 new molecular entities (NMEs) were launched each year. Between 2000 and 2004, this figure had dropped to an average of only 28.

The Commission is also suspicious of generic medicines, which appear to be experiencing significant delays in getting to market.
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?n=82600-european-commission-corruption-pfizer-merck-astrazeneca
I read about this on my company webpage as they are now owned by one of the large Pharma companies involved in this.
I realize that this kind of unethical behavior does go on, although I think its not QUITE as bad as some would think here anyway.
I would hope that the company I now work under is not involved but since I read they are accused of having done this in 2005, I guess I shouldn't expect much.
I would like to know how much power this commission has (is this like the FDA?) and what it could do if it finds evidence of collusion? Obviously, I have a personal interest in this. I figured some of you guys might be able to shed some light on this.
As I am a lab rat and not a marketer, I have little knowledge in this area.

This looks more like an investigation under competition law, rather than the equivalent of what the FDA does. So if you want to see what might happen, consider the cases they've brought against Microsoft - ending in a €497 million fine, which Microsoft has eventually stopped trying to appeal against.