Pharmaceutical Mail. Italy's Competition authority has warned the government that its new regulation to mandate regional bidding for medicines, which are contained in a package of measures included in the 2017 budget bill, are likely to reduce price competition and the savings potential. In its weekly bulletin dated November 21, the Autorità Garante dell Concorrenza del Mercato (AGCM) devoted three pages to an analysis of what the changes will mean for public procurement of medicines.