Rush Bill would make most patent settlement deals in USA unlawful

Last week, US Representative Bobby Rush (Democrat, Illinois) introduced HR 3995, the Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act of 2012. The bill is the latest piece of legislation that attempts to stymie so-called pay-for-delay patent settlement agreements, notes Hyman, Phelps & McNamara's Kurt Karst writing on the law firm's FDA Law Blog.

In January 2011, Senator Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin) introduced S 27, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act, and in November 2011, a group of bi-partisan Senators introduced s 1882, the Fair And Immediate Release of Generic Drugs Act, or the 'FAIR GENERxICS Act,' which also seeks to pull 180-day exclusivity into the mix by making some significant changes to the FDC Act's exclusivity provisions.

HR 3995 different to other pending legislation