Announced Action for February 11, 2005

Commission authorization of the staff to file amicus brief: The Commission has authorized the staff to file a brief as amicus curiae in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc., Case No. 04-1186 (Fed. Cir.) in support of Teva’s petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc. The case, which was recently ruled upon by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, involves the Hatch-Waxman Act. In an effort to market its generic version of Pfizer’s blockbuster drug Zoloft, Teva sued Pfizer challenging a patent on that drug. The district court dismissed Teva’s complaint for a declaratory judgment against Pfizer, and the Court of Appeals panel affirmed the ruling of the district court.

Last year, the Commission filed an amicus brief in support of Teva’s appeal. The Commission’s brief, in support of Teva’s rehearing petition can be found on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. The brief states that the panel majority’s decision conflicts with two prior decisions of the Federal Circuit and one decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amicus brief was 4-0-1, with Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour recused. (FTC File No. P042112; the staff contact is Lawrence DeMille-Wagman, Office of the General Counsel, 202-326-2448; see related press release issued on April 2, 2004.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.