(Yicai Global) April 15 -- China's market regulator has fined Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group CNY764 million (USD116.8 million) or 3 percent of its annual revenue in 2018 due to inflated prices.

The drugmaker had signed agreements with wholesale vendors and pharmacies to fix retail prices and punished those distributors who sold the products at lower prices, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on WeChat today. The medicine manufacturer had reported about CNY25.5 billion (USD3.9 billion) in sales in 2018.

The Taizhou-based company had also entrusted third-party agencies to supervise online drug prices.

Yangtze River Pharma's actions have restricted cooperation and harmed consumers' rights and interests, according to the SAMR. The firm had violated China's Anti-Monopoly Law that prohibits operators from making monopoly agreements and setting price floors.

Drug prices are a major issue related to the cost of medical treatment and people's livelihood, and it is necessary to continue to strengthen anti-monopoly supervision in the field, the SAMR added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi