The Washington Post (2/3, A4, Layton) reports, "The Federal Trade Commission [FTC] has filed suit in federal court in an attempt to block a deal in which a manufacturer of a brand-name testosterone-replacement drug [Androgel (testosterone gel)] paid three competitors to delay rolling out cheaper generic versions." The state of California joined the FTC in its complaint. Officials with the agency "are hoping the case will ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court."
The FTC "alleges that [Solvay Pharmaceuticals] agreed to share its profits with the generic firms provided they did not launch their low-cost versions until 2015," the AP (2/3, Perrone) explains. "Instead of competing against Solvay, the FTC states that the generic companies agreed to help market and manufacture" the product. The generic drug companies named in the lawsuit include Watson Pharmaceuticals, Par Pharmaceutical Co., and Paddock Laboratories. In its complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court in California, the FTC stated that "these agreements deny consumers the opportunity to purchase lower-cost generic versions of AndroGel, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars a year."
"With the lawsuit, the FTC is now litigating two so-called 'pay-for-delay' cases," Dow Jones Newswires (2/3, Kendall) notes. In 2008, the agency "sued Cephalon Inc., alleging that the company paid generic drugmakers to delay competing versions of its best-selling narcolepsy drug Provigil [modafinil]." Dow Jones points out that the agency "has continued to attack such settlements even though some judicial circuits have ruled that the agreements are legal. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on the issue." Three years ago, the Supreme Court "refused to consider the FTC's challenge to an agreement between Schering-Plough (SGP) and generic companies that delayed competing versions of K-Dur 20, a potassium supplement. In a widely noticed schism, the Bush administration refused to support the FTC's Supreme Court appeal in the Schering case." According to Dow Jones, the Obama administration may be more supportive.
The Wall Street Journal (2/2, Goldstein) Health Blog, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (2/3, Niemela), and Los Angeles Business (2/3, Poole) also cover the story.
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