Categories: Law, Accounting & Taxes

NY AG applauds Supreme Court ruling on drug pay-for-delay settlements

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that pay-for-delay settlements of drug-patent litigation may be challenged as potential violations of antitrust law.

Pay-for-delay settlements are those in which brand-name drug manufacturers pay their generic competitors to delay the availability of less expensive generic drugs, Schneiderman’s office said in a news release.

The ruling is a “victory” for millions of Americans who depend on generic drugs to treat illness and pain, Schneiderman said in the news release.

“As we argued in our brief to the Supreme Court, pay-for-delay drug settlements should receive serious scrutiny because they are frequently anticompetitive, unlawful, and harmful to health-care consumers across the country. This decision makes clear that drug companies can be sued to stop anticompetitive pay-for-delay agreements. It will be an important weapon in the fight for affordable drug prices and quality healthcare for every citizen,” Schneiderman said.

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Schneiderman in January led a coalition of 36 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in arguing that the Supreme Court should allow antitrust enforcers to challenge pay-for-delay settlements as anticompetitive and unlawful, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Eric Reinhardt