The Competition Council in Romania has launched two investigations into the potential abuse of dominant market position by Roche Romania (VTX: ROG) in the oncology products sector, Business Review said on Friday.

The first investigation will focus on possible anti-competitive behaviour by Roche. According to reports, the company is accused of "practising higher wholesale prices in relation to one of their distributors than those offered by Roche Romania in the context of auctions for supplying medicine to hospitals."

It comes after the Competition Council held an inquiry into the pharmaceutical market, which found that generic drugs, despite being cheaper than their original counterparts, failed to attain a significant market share.

A second investigation will centre on Roche's patented drug Tarceva, which is used in the treatment of various cancers. The generic version is composed of the same active substances and has the same therapeutic effects, but it is not protected by a patent.

In the study earlier this year, the Romanian authority examined the marketing and promotion activities associated with drug sales and saw a potential correlation between marketing activities by companies that develop drugs and the low market penetration rate of generic drugs.