The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic welcomes the decision of the Regional Court in Bratislava, which annulled the judgment by default in the action brought by Union Health Insurance Agency regarding the classification of Keytruda and returned the case to the new proceedings.
–The court confirmed that MZ SR was not in doubt. The resort acted in accordance with current legislation and immediately after learning of the existence of legal proceedings, used all legal means and properly performed its duties. Medialised information on resort failures and inactivity was false and misleading. said Minister of Health Kamil Šaško. The Regional Court in Bratislava clearly identified with the legal arguments of the Ministry, annulled the judgment by default and returned the case to the new proceedings.
The Union insurance company applied on 20 February 2023 damages of more than €1.3 million the decision to make Keytruda conditional on inclusion in the list of categorised medicinal products. On 28 November 2024, the City Court of Bratislava IV decided by default in favour of the applicant and ordered the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic to pay the requested amount. However, the Ministry had no knowledge of the ongoing legal proceedings, since the court documents were served in the wrong way.
The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic appealed against the judgment and the Regional Court in Bratislava on 27 February 2026 by default, set aside the judgment and refer the case back to the new procedure and decision. The compensation claim will be re- decided City Court Bratislava IV, while MZ SR will be able to defend itself against claims properly.