Antitrust Advisory lawyers prove that Ottobock did not participate in a retail price-fixing cartel of wholesaling orthopedic appliances

16.07.2021

In August 2020, the FAS of Russia alleged that six companies wholesaling orthopaedic appliances had been involved in a price-fixing cartel (in violation of Article 11(1)(1) of the Law on the Protection of Competition) with the view to setting and maintaining prices for orthopaedic appliances at a certain level through controlling the retail prices charged by their contractual counterparts.

The Antitrust Advisory team represented Ottobock, an international manufacturer of prosthetic and orthopaedic appliances. Antitrust Advisory lawyers have successfully defended the client’s position in the case by proving that Ottobock did not participate in any retail price fixing cartel and had objective economic reasons to recommend certain retail prices for its products due to the peculiar nature of its business. The FAS of Russia has dropped the charges and discontinued proceedings against the company.