FTCs Bureau of Competition Issues Summary of Pharmaceutical Company Settlement Agreements

The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition today issued a summary of agreements filed with the Commission in fiscal year 2004 (ending September 30, 2004) by generic and branded drug manufacturers. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 requires drug companies to file certain agreements with the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice. The summary, released on the one-year anniversary of the effective date of this requirement, provides information regarding the 22 agreements that were filed with the FTC in FY 2004.

The highlights of the summary are that: 1) 19 of the 22 agreements filed in FY 2004 involved agreements between brand and generic manufacturers, with the remainder occurring between two generic manufacturers; 2) 14 of these 19 agreements resolved patent infringement litigation between brand and generic manufacturers; and 3) no settlement included a payment from the brand to the generic manufacturer in exchange for the generic’s agreement not to market its product.