European Court of Justice set to support pharmacist monopoly
The European Court of Justice seems likely to endorse restraints on the ownership of pharmacies in some European Union member states, in direct contradiction to a campaign by the European Commission that supports reform (Marketletter December 8). Two cases under review by the ECJ have received formal opinions from the Advocate General, Yves Bot, to the effect that Italian and German laws requiring that all pharmacies must be owned by qualified pharmacists are justified on public health grounds.
Dutch chain tried to open in Germany
The cases, C-171/01 and C172-07 (Apothekerkammer des Saarlandes and Others) followed the 2006 authorization by the Saarland regional government in Germany to a Netherlands-based company, Doc Morris, to operate an outlet in the regional capital, Saarbruken. Pharmacy lobbyists and trade groups challenged the license claiming that Germany's prohibition of non-pharmacist-owned outlets was a violation of public health protection.
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