Georgia: The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA) has received prestigious international recognition for its decisions in the pharmaceutical sector and reforms in the country. It should be noted that they have been identified as best practices by the World Bank Group and the International Competition Network (ICN).
24th International Conference of International Competition Network (ICN)
The award ceremony was held on May 8, 2025, on Thursday in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was held within the framework of the 24th International Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN). Notably, the event was attended by the chairman of the GCCA, Irakli Lekvinadze.
The 2025 Annual Conference welcomed over 500 delegates. It included:
- heads of competition authorities,
- ICN members,
- civil society representatives,
- experts in the field.
Main Goal of International Competition Network (ICN)
The International Competition Network (ICN) unites competition and antimonopoly authorities from 160 countries.
Recognitions
The GCCA was recognized in the category – Promoting Sustained Competitive Processes for Increased Private Investment, Job Creation, and Consumer Welfare – for a case that resulted in substantial reforms in the pharmaceutical sector.
Basically, the Agency issued 13 key recommendations. The goal of these were to improve the competitiveness and transparency of the pharmaceutical sector.
Moreover, these recommendations contributed to major national reforms undertaken by the Government of Georgia and the Ministry of Health. It included:
- the introduction of an electronic prescription system,
- the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Distribution Practice (GDP) standards,
- the establishment of a reference pricing system covering up to 7,000 medicines.
Certainly, these measures led to a significant reduction in the price of many medications, resulting in substantial savings for patients. In 2023, the GCCA also imposed fines totaling GEL 53 million on four pharmaceutical companies. The fines were imposed for collusive pricing practices in public tenders for oncology drugs.
However, in the second nomination – strengthening state procurement and eliminating restrictive competition agreements were recognized. The main aim was to save budget costs.
