In re Wellbutrin Antitrust Litigation

Brief of the Federal Trade Commission arguing that the district court committed multiple legal errors that should be corrected on appeal. The district court erroneously concluded that a reverse-payment settlement that allowed the underlying patent litigation to continue, while the brand-name drugmaker paid the generic drugmaker not to enter at risk during the pendency of the litigation, was not subject to the rule-of-reason analysis prescribed by the Supreme Court in FTC v. Actavis, Inc., 133 S. Ct. 2223 (2013). The district court erroneously required plaintiffs to show actual delayed entry or injury to a specific party to establish an antitrust violation. The district court failed to require defendants to prove that the reverse payment promoted the claimed procompetitive benefits of settlement. Finally, the district court erred when it found the reverse15-3559, 15-3591, 15-3681, 15-3682-payment settlement agreement lawful partly on grounds that the parties included a provision that would allow them to abandon the deal if the FTC objected.