EC TO VET MERIEUX-MERCK DEAL

The Commission of the European Communities is examining the project by the USA drugmaker Merck & Co and the French vaccines group Institut Merieux to set up a joint European company (Marketletter August 10, 1992). Merieux and Merck have now signed a definitive agreement on a link-up to exploit the European vaccines market after ten months of negotiations, but the deal needs the EC Commission's approval to ensure it complies with competition rules.

The agreement has only just been filed in Brussels, and it will take about a month for officials to undertake a preliminary examination of the details. Commission sources say approval of the project is far from a formality, though it is conceded that the merger of Merieux' and Merck's European vaccines will have no immediate impact on competing companies. Merck is hardly present in the European market, and so the joint-venture parts of the market will be predominantly Merieux.

The arguments that will be put by opponents of the deal will therefore inevitably include the claim that existing French dominance in the European vaccines market will be reinforced by the alliance. Merieux holds 95% of the French national market.