In the Nexium pay-for-delay multidistrict litigation accusing drug companies of violating antitrust laws by agreeing to delay entry of a generic version of AstraZenca’s heartburn drug Nexium, federal Judge William Young may be reconsidering some of his orders granting the summary judgments to drugmakers. The case stems from the 2008 pay-for-delay deal struck between AstraZeneca, who manufactures the brand name heartburn drug Nexium, and generic-drug makers Ranbaxy, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. (the “Generic Manufacturers).  Under the... Read More

The debate over "reverse payment" patent litigation settlements continues following the Supreme Court's decision in FTC v. Actavis that such agreements should be individually evaluated to determine whether they violate the anti-trust laws. Reverse payment settlements (aptly referred to as pay-for-delay settlements) arise when a brand drug manufacturer sues a generic drug maker for patent infringement and settles the litigation by paying the generic drug manufacture not to bring the lower-cost generic drug to market for a specified period of time,... Read More