FTC Sues in 'Pay-for-Delay' Pact:: Drugmaker Paid Rivals to Withhold Generic, Agency Says

[williesgirl]

Source: Wash Post

The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit in federal court in an attempt to block a deal in which a manufacturer of a brand-name testosterone-replacement drug paid three competitors to delay rolling out cheaper generic versions.

The FTC said the "pay-for-delay" agreement violates antitrust laws, robs consumers of less-expensive alternatives and allows the brand-name drugmaker an unfair monopoly. The state of California joined the federal agency in its complaint, which was filed last week in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.


snip

Several other drugmakers -- Watson Pharmaceuticals, Par Pharmaceuticals and Paddock Laboratories -- applied to manufacture a generic version of Androgel and challenged Solvay's patent, saying they could produce a version of the drug that did not impinge on the patent. When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval, Solvay made a deal with the would-be competitors: They would get a share of Solvay's profits in return for not marketing a generic version until 2010, the FTC complaint said.

snip

The FTC says that such payments, also called "exclusion payment settlements," stymie the intent of the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, which was meant to speed generic drugs to market. The FTC has tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Supreme Court to hear two cases challenging such agreements in recent years, but each time, the Department of Justice argued that the high court should not take the case.




Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020202968.html?hpid=moreheadlines

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Although it doesn't matter which drug, this is for a drug called Androgel, a synthetic testosterone gel prescribed to men who have low levels of the hormone due to aging, cancer, or HIV/AIDS, among other conditions. These deals are called reverse payments and are becoming the deal of choice among pharmas.

They are keeping generic drugs off the market will fucking payoffs! This shit has got to be stopped, every deal investigated and brought to trial. Obama and some other Dems tried to get a bill thru Congress last year, but it failed. It's expected to be reintroduced next week and hopefully will pass with the new Congress and President.

We must stop the pharma lobbyists from paying off our Reps and Senators and succeeding once again in killing this crucial bill.

[pattmarty]

1. I believe in the next few years we are going to see a lot more of....................

.................this shit in other areas also. I really think that we will NEVER "fix" all the wrongs done to this country especially in the last 30 yrs. I am beginning to think that Obama will be a Clinton like President. Much better than what we had, but certainly no FDR or LBJ. For the US, this is gonna be as good as it gets, unfortunately.