Her broad expertise in the application of competition law extends to antitrust issues (investigations, complaints, inspections, competition assessments and trainings), merger notifications to the Competition Council and state aid-related activities.
Manuela advised and represented leading international clients on competition law matters related to investigations of the antitrust authorities, merger control notifications, the structuring of distribution systems, contractual and promotional activities, and performed numerous trainings on antitrust and compliance matters.
Clients from various industries such as pharma, retail, telecom and energy, and major business associations, rely on Manuela’s advice on a wide range of competition and state aid matters, including vertical and horizontal agreements, abuse of dominance issues and foreign direct investments related to mergers & acquisitions or internal restructuring transactions.
Advised a Germany-based provider of medicines specialized in clinical immunology, hematology and intensive care medicine, in connection with the investigation launched by the Romanian Competition Council into alleged horizontal agreements on the immunoglobulin market.
Assisted a leading European pharmaceutical company and its Romanian subsidiary in various matters related to its distribution system, including on the setting up of an emergency supply system for several of its products sold on the Romanian market.
Assisted a Germany-based provider of medicines with a chain that extends from pre-clinical and clinical development to worldwide marketing and distribution, in connection to a complex change in the structures of carrying out of its activities on the Romanian market.
Assisted a major medicines distributor, in connection with the acquisition of an important Romanian distributor of pharmaceutical products. The mandate covered an in-depth antitrust due-diligence procedure aimed at identifying potential risks in connection with the target company’s commercial practices, scrutinized through the lens of the Competition Council’s recent decision-making practice and the standards that it has set for the Romanian pharma market.
Advised the Romanian subsidiary of a large international supplier of in vitro diagnostic equipment in the assessment of its distribution system in Romania of in vitro diagnostics equipment and related supplies (reagents) and of potential anticompetitive practices that could result from the behavior of clients, private and public entities.
Assisted a major European investment fund, on competition aspects related to the EUR 300 million acquisition of the largest pharma distribution conglomerate in Romania.
Assisted a worldwide manufacturer of innovative medicinal products in the investigation launched by the Romanian Competition Council into alleged horizontal agreements.
Advised a worldwide US medicines manufacturer in connection with a significant number of competition law-related matters concerning its business in Romania, with a premier focus on the competition aspects entailed by its distribution relationships, including the evaluation of risk in respect of new forms of infringement of competition law envisaged by the Romanian Competition Council following its in-depth sector inquiry into the Romanian pharmaceutical sector.