In a statement, the Commission's antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, said the two companies "shockingly deprived patients in the Netherlands, including people suffering from cancer, from access to a cheaper version of this medicine."
The Commission found that after Johnson & Johnson's patent on a patch containing the drug Fentanyl expired in 2005, it paid Novartis to delay launching a generic version.
The delay lasted 17 months, and was more profitable for both companies than competing honestly would have been.