U.S. settles 'pay for delay' fight with drugmaker Cephalon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators have settled a long-running fight with Cephalon, now owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals, over how it resolved a patent infringement lawsuit tied to wakefulness drug Provigil, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. Cephalon had been accused by the FTC of illegally protecting its monopoly on Provigil by paying generic drug makers to drop their challenges to Cephalon's patent. This is often called a "pay for delay" agreement since the brand name drugmaker pays a generic maker to delay entering the market. As part of the settlement with regulators, Teva, which bought Cephalon in 2012, agreed to pay $1.2 billion to refund buyers who paid too much for Provigil, the FTC said. "Today's landmark settlement is an important step in the FTC's ongoing effort to protect consumers from anti-competitive pay for delay settlements, which burden patients, American businesses, and taxpayers with billions of dollars in higher prescription drug costs," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. Some buyers, including wholesalers and insurance companies, have already reached court settlements over the pay for delay deals, and that money will count toward the $1.2 billion. Teva, the world's largest generic manufacturer, also agreed to refrain from reaching any additional "anti-competitive patent settlements," the FTC said. Teva said in a statement that the delay agreements that prompted the FTC probe occurred in 2005 and 2006, before it purchased Cephalon. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the government. In relation to the consent decree, Teva believes it is the right path for our company, for the industry and for the patients we serve," Teva said. The FTC has fought "pay for delay" deals for more than 10 years. The agency has pushed for legislation to ban the patent agreements or make it easier for the FTC to challenge them. The commission voted 5-0 to settle the Cephalon case. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Susan Heavey and Emily Stephenson)
