Rejecting an appeal, the Federal Competition Commission voted 4 to 1 to fine the companies $11.6 million for conspiring to raise prices of meds sold to a social-services agency, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, according to this statement. The decision comes shortly after the antitrust regulator indictated new investigations may be launched into drugmakers for scheming to inflate prices (background).

According to the CFC, the drugmakers engaged in monopolistic practices during public bidding organzied by the agency and, in doing so, eliminated competition, which forced the IMSS, as its known, to pay artificially high prices. Those fined include Eli Lilly, Laboratorios Cryopharma, Probiomed, Fresenius Kabi Mexico, Baxter and Laboratorios Pisa. The meds involved were insulin and injectable saline solutions. Each drugmaker was fined $1.7 million and several execs who ‘directly particpiated’ in the schemes were also fined $1.6 million each.

The drugmakers argued there was no illegal coordination, but that each had taken ‘unilateral action’ based on expectations about how rivals would bid, according to the CFC statement. The agency, however, decided “the winning company increased its price in subsequent bidding to make way for another winner (which in turn submitted a bid that was similar to what had been offered by the winner of the previous round), something only explicable when there is collusion.”