Tagged: Reverse Payments

Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology Files Amicus Brief in “Pay-for-Delay” Case Before Supreme Court

We previously reported on the battle over so-called “pay-for-delay” settlements, which puts the pharmaceutical industry versus the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) before the Supreme Court, to decide the legality of reverse payments in Hatch-Waxman cases. The case is FTC v. Actavis, Inc., et al. Last week, the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology, among 16 other amici, filed briefs in support of respondents and the lawfulness of these payments. The other amici included: Antitrust Economists; Bayer AG and Bayer Corp.; Health Economics and Law Professors; Mediation and Negotiation Professionals; Law Professors Gregory Dolin, Kent Bernard, et al.; The American Intellectual Property Law Association; Enavail, LLC; The Generic Pharmaceutical Association]; Intellectual Property Owners Association; Merck & Co., Inc.; National Association of Manufacturers; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (Phrma); New York Intellectual Property Law Association; Shire plc; Washington Legal Foundation; Generic Manufacturers Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Impax Laboratories, Inc.

Proposed Bill Seeks to Answer the Pay for Delay Debate

As the so-called pay for-delay case is ripening for Supreme Court oral argument on March 25, 2013, on Tuesday a bi-partisan group of senators introduced legislation meant to strongly deter such arrangements. The introduction of the bill, known as the “Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act,” follows an annual FTC report disclosing 40 potential pay-for-delay deals struck in the 2012 fiscal year — a jump from 28 such deals in 2011. The goal of the bill is “to prohibit brand name drug companies from compensating generic drug companies to delay the entry of a generic drug into the market.” Such reverse payments (payments made by branded pharmaceutical patent holders to generic challengers to postpone market entry) are considered lawful by some, and anti-competitive by others, including the FTC.

FTC Petitions for Certiorari in Reverse Payments Dispute

As we anticipated, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a petition for certiorari yesterday with the Supreme Court in FTC v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In that case, the Eleventh Circuit upheld reverse payments (payments made by branded pharmaceutical patent holders to generic challengers to postpone market entry under the scope-of-the-patent approach, i.e., as long as the anti-competitive effects fall within the scope of the exclusionary potential of the patent, absent sham litigation or fraud), as lawful. The Second and Federal Circuits follow that approach. In contrast, the Third Circuit has held that such payments are presumptively anti-competitive under the “quick look rule of reason analysis” that may be rebutted by showing that the payments was for something other than delay or that the payment has a competitive benefit, and thereby increases competition.

Will the Supreme Court Weigh in on Reverse Payments in ANDA Cases — Revisited

We have written previously on numerous developments concerning reverse payments in Hatch-Waxman litigation settlements (i.e., payments made by branded pharmaceutical patent holders to generic challengers to postpone market entry of proposed generic products). Earlier this month, we reported that Merck & Co. had filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari seeking to challenge the Third Circuit’s decision in In re K-Dur Antitrust Litig. holding that reverse payments are prima facie evidence of an antitrust violation.

Will the Supreme Court Weigh in on Reverse Payments in ANDA Cases?

We previously reported on developments in various United States Courts of Appeal decisions concerning reverse payments in Hatch-Waxman litigation settlements – that is, payments made by branded pharmaceutical patent holders to generic challengers to postpone market entry of the generic product. Most recently, as we reported here, the Third Circuit in In re K-Dur Antitrust Litig. bucked prior holdings of the Eleventh, Second, and Federal Circuits, ruling that a reverse payment is prima facie evidence of an antitrust violation and, therefore, serves as evidence of unreasonable restraints of trade. In light of the Third Circuit’s divergent decision from other circuit precedent, many predicted a subsequent Petition for Certiorari.