CASTRES, France, November 6 /PRNewswire/ --     The case opposing the French Competition Authority and Pierre Fabre 
Dermocosmetics (PFDC) came before the Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday, 29 
October 2009.

It may be remembered that in this case, the "Conseil de la Concurrence"
(now called Autorité de la Concurrence) [Competition Council , now called the
Competition Authority] condemned Pierre Fabre Dermocosmetics to pay a fine of
EUR17,000 and ordered the company to allow its products to be sold over the
Internet.

Pierre Fabre DC appealed against this "Conseil de la Concurrence"
Decision on 29 October 2008 and obtained a stay of execution of the
injunctions pronounced by the Council from the Paris Court of Appeal in
February 2009.

Pierre Fabre maintains that only the physical presence of a
graduate pharmacist guarantees that consumers receive the best possible
advice from a qualified professional.

In its decision, the Paris Court of Appeal recognized that PFDC had
serious grounds for its rationale and decided:

- To put a preliminary question to the CJCE (the Court of Justice of the
      European Communities) so that this court determines if, by law, "the 
      general and absolute prohibition to sell contract products on the 
      Internet to final users imposed on approved distributors within the 
      framework of a selective distribution network constitutes a hardcore 
      restriction of competition by object",
    - To defer ruling pending the decision of the CJCE,
    - To confirm the stay of execution of the injunctions pronounced by the
      Competition Authority against PFDC.



In concrete terms, this means that the Internet sales of Pierre Fabre
dermocosmetics continue to be prohibited pending the opinion of the CJCE and
a final decision by the Paris Court of Appeal.

Pierre Fabre remains opposed to internet sales and to all remote sales of
their dermo-cosmetics as this cannot guarantee that customers receive
individually tailored advice from qualified professionals, it encourages
counterfeiting, and prevents the complete traceability of products which is
the only guarantee of good cosmetic vigilance.

Since 2006, Pierre Fabre DermoCosmetics is the only company in its sector
of activity that has refused to give into the competition Authority's
injunction, in order to defend the quality and professionalism of the
distribution network of its products.

About the Pierre Fabre Group:

The Pierre Fabre group is the second largest independent French
pharmaceutical company with a 2008 turnover of EUR1.75 billion. It employs
nearly 10,000 people.

The activities of the Pierre Fabre Group are divided between Drugs (sales
of EUR552 million ), OTC (EUR352 million ), and dermo-cosmetic (EUR829
million).

The "dermo-cosmetics" activity is splited into 2 divisions: dermatology
and dermopharmacy, which safely offers to pharmacists, prescribers and users,
effective products which are perfectly well tolerated by the skin, hair and
nails, containing mainly active substances of natural origin.

- Dermatology with the brands: AvÚne, Ducray / A-Derma, Pierre Fabre
      Dermatologie and Glytone.
    - Dermopharmacy with the brands: Klorane, Galénic / Elancyl and René
      Furterer.



The "family health"(OTC) branch, which is divided into 2 departments:
Pierre Fabre Santé and Naturactive, provides pharmacists and patients with a
wide range of medicines, Over the Counter's products (OTC) and self
medication products for everyday health and well-being. Each of these
departments focuses on specialized therapeutic fields: Pierre Fabre Health on
immunity, smoking cessation, woman's health, movement disorders, infectious
diseases, skin care, and oral and dental health. Naturactive, a department
dedicated to herbal therapy, develops medicines and food supplements
containing plants and substances of natural origin.