Federal Trade Commission Approves Appointment of Monitor in Pay-for-Delay Case against Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The Federal Trade Commission has approved the appointment of Quantic Regulatory Services, LLC as monitor in its case alleging that Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. violated antitrust laws by using pay-for-delay settlements to block consumers’ access to lower-cost generic versions of Opana ER and Lidoderm.

Under an order entered by the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California on February 2, 2017, Endo and its subsidiaries are prohibited from entering into the type of anticompetitive patent settlements that the FTC charged Endo used to delay generic competition, including no-authorized generic, or “no-AG,” commitments.

The order allows Endo to enter supply agreements in connection with patent settlements if the agreements comply with certain requirements. The order authorized the Commission to appoint a monitor with the authority to evaluate whether these supply agreements comply with the order’s requirements.

The Commission vote approving appointment of the monitor was 2-0. FTC File No. 141 0004, Case No. 17-cv-00312 (N.D. Cal.); the staff contact is Susan Huber, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3331.

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