China’s market watchdog said on February 28 that it had issued an administrative fine order against Geistlich (Beiing) Trading Co., Ltd. (盖思特利商贸（北京）有限公司) for fixing prices, according to a notice published on its official website.

The State Administration for Market Regulation Administration (SAMR) on February 2 fined the Beijing-based subsidiary of Swiss regenerative medical device maker Geistlich Pharma AG 9 million yuan ($1.4 million) for having its distributors agree to sell its products at certain prices, which practice is defined as resale price maintenance (RPM) and identified as potentially monopolistic and anti-competitive under China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).

The SAMR found that Geistlich Beijing signed contracts with distributors to sell medical devices used in regenerative dentistry such as Geistlich Bio-Oss, Geistlich Bio-Oss Collagen, and Geistlich Bio-Gide at fixed prices from 2008 to 2020. Geistlich is a world market leader in regenerative dentistry, which no Chinese local manufacturers compete with. Its resale price maintenance practice prevents resellers from competing too fiercely on price and restricts other manufacturers’ competition, as dental implant surgery has been accused of being inaccessibly exorbitant by general Chinese consumers.

The SAMR determined the fine to be 3% of the revenue generated by Geistlich Beijing in China in 2020.

The full text of the administrative order is available here.