ROME, June 6 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust regulator

said on Thursday it had launched a probe into several

pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, for

having potentially restricted competition in the sale of a drug

for eye conditions.

Samsung Bioepis, Biogen, Genentech and Novartis, and some of

their Italian, Dutch and UK units, allegedly coordinated their

commercial strategies to delay the launch in Italy of Byooviz, a

drug made with ranibizumab and developed and sold by Samsung

Bioepis, the watchdog said in a statement.

Byooviz is similar to Lucentis, which is developed by

Genentech and sold in Italy by Novartis.

The potential hold-up may have limited the availability and

prices for patients but may also have negative repercussions on

possible savings by the Italian national health services, the

authority added.

Searches had been carried out in Italy, with the support of

the finance police, and in the Netherlands by the Dutch

regulator, Italy's antitrust regulator added.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Alvise Armellini and

Lincoln Feast.)