AstraZeneca has run into trouble in the UK and have recently been fined a massive amount of €60m (£40m). This is for misleading government agencies, for trying to block the sale of copies of its ulcer drug Losec and serious abuses of its dominant market position. Even though the amount levied was huge, the drug firm admitted that the profit from the anti-competitive behaviour was far larger.

The drug, also known as the purple pill was worth $6bn (£3.3bn) a year at the end of the 1990s, but when the patents of such drugs expire a profit fall of up to 70% is generally expected due to the increase in competion from rival companies.

But, instead of going off patent, Purple pill decided to appeal for an extention. The EC said that AstraZeneca had made misleading applications to patent offices that gave the firm longer patent protection and exclusive rights, and was also alleged of misusing the rules it had been set.

It was a misuse of the patent law, one of the experts remarked. More than the amount involved the fine serves its purpose of sending a powerful message to all wrong doers in the industry, he added. But, some of the other experts hold the view that penalty was relatively lenient because of recent European court of justice rulings. Under the EU rules on abuse of market dominance, the fine could have been up to 10% of its turnover, which is roughly $21bn (£11.5bn).

AstraZeneca said it would appeal against the decision, as it claims it acted in good faith when applying to European patent offices. It also added that as there were other ulcer treatments on the market, it could not be considered a dominant provider.

In a statement AstraZeneca released, the company said an appeal is necessary because of the important negative impact on future competitiveness that this narrow analysis of dominance will have on innovative industry in Europe. 'We have not made misrepresentations or behaved inappropriately', they added.