The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on “pay-for-delay” deals — when brand-name drugmakers pay off generics companies for postponing the release of lower-cost alternatives onto the market.
The latest settlement involved Teva Pharmaceuticals, which has already had to pay $1.2 billion for allegedly paying to protect its narcolepsy drug, Provigil. Now the agency has reached an agreement that bars Teva from utilizing the “two most pernicious and common forms of reverse payments.” The agency justified its decision by saying that the practice violates antitrust laws.
“This broad settlement prevents the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs from entering into collusive agreements that prevent price competition from keeping generic drugs off the market,” the FTC chairman said.
As part of the settlement, the FTC will drop three pay-for-delay cases involving Teva.
Read the full Reuters report.