FTC reports 2013 patent dispute settlements, with 29 potential pay-for-delay deals

In fiscal year 2013, companies filed a total of 145 final patent dispute settlements, of which 29 created potential “pay-for-delay” agreements between branded and generic drug companies, according to a new staff report from the USA’s Federal Trade Commission. Although the number of potential pay-for-delay settlements is down from FY 2012, it is similar to FY 2010 and 2011.

Those 29 settlements potentially involve pay-for-delay because the brand manufacturer compensated the generic manufacturer and the generic manufacturer was restricted from marketing its product in competition with the branded product for some period of time. The 29 settlements involve 21 different branded pharmaceutical products, with combined annual US sales of around $4.3 billion.

13 of the pay-for delays were “first filers”