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.

Copies of the Bureau’s summary of agreements filed in FY 2004 are available on the FTC’s Web site at www.ftc.gov. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition seeks to prevent business practices that restrain competition. The Bureau carries out its mission by investigating alleged law violations and, when appropriate, recommending that the Commission take formal enforcement action. To notify the Bureau concerning particular business practices, call or write the Office of Policy and Evaluation, Room 394, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., Washington, DC 20580, Electronic Mail: antitrust@ftc.gov; Telephone (202) 326-3300. For more information on the laws that the Bureau enforces, the Commission has published “Promoting Competition, Protecting Consumers: A Plain English Guide to Antitrust Laws,” which can be accessed at http://www.ftc.gov/bc/compguide/index.htm.