A patent deal in which Endo Pharmaceuticals paid generic-drug maker Impax Laboratories to forgo launching a generic version of an opioid pain medication did not violate consumer protection statutes, a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) administrative law judge ruled Friday, May 18, because the settlement’s pro-competitive benefits outweighed the anticompetitive harm, reported Law360.
The original complaint in 2012 accused Endo of working a deal in which they compensated Watson Laboratories “hundreds of millions of dollars” to hold off a generic version of Endo’s Lidoderm patch. It also accused Endo of paying Impax US$112 million in 2010 to hold off releasing an authorized generic version of Endo’s painkiller Opana. The FTC alleged Endo’s financial gain by giving it time to transition patients to a new formulation of Opana ER, “thereby maintaining its monopoly power.”
Full Content: Law 360
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