US FTC Chairman, Congressmen call for legislation to end 'pay-for-delay' deals to stop generics

US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz and key members of Congress, including Representative Chris Van Hollen, Chairman Bobby Rush and Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, renewed their call for legislation that would put an end to anticompetitive patent settlements, which drugmakers have been using to keep less-expensive copy medicines off the market and charge consumers billions of dollars a year in higher drug prices.

Last summer, Mr Leibowitz stated that 'eliminating these 'pay-for-delay' deals is one of the FTC's highest priorities' and, even as far back as 2008, he argued that these agreements 'inflict special pain on the working poor and the elderly, who need effective drugs at affordable prices.'

Cephalon show case