The European Commission on Friday threatened antitrust cases against pharmaceutical companies that have used legal tactics to delay the launch of generic medicines at a cost to taxpayers of €3bn ($3.8bn) since the turn of the decade.

Publishing details of a highly critical inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector begun in January, Neelie Kroes, competition commissioner, criticised the industry for practices she said may have slowed the launch of innovative and lower-cost generic versions of existing medicines. “The commission will not hesitate to open antitrust cases against companies where there are indications that the antitrust rules may have been breached,” she said.