US appeals court upholds FTC's opinion against Impax Labs

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld the Federal Trade Commission determination that Impax Laboratories engaged in an illegal pay-for-delay, or “reverse payment,” settlement to block consumers’ access to a lower-cost generic version of Endo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ENDP) branded extended-release opioid pain reliever Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended release).

Under the settlement, Impax agreed to stay out of the market for two-and-a-half years in exchange for a substantial and unjustified payment from Endo, whose shares were upt 2.7% at $6.27 in early trading today0.

“There was more than enough evidence to support the unanimous view of the Commissioners . . . that a less restrictive alternative was viable,” Judge Gregg Costa wrote in the Fifth Circuit’s opinion.