US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Generics Settlements Case

On June 26th, 2006 the US Supreme Court announced that it would not hear an appeal in the case of Federal Trade Commission v Schering-Plough Corporation. The roots of the case reach back to settlement agreements Schering-Plough Corporation (Schering) entered into in the late 1990s with two competitors who had challenged Schering's patent on the medicine K-Dur 20, a supplement taken in connection with prescription medicines for treatment of vascular diseases. As part of these agreements, the competitors agreed to delay entry of their generic versions of K-Dur into the market. The Federal Trade Commission objected to the settlement agreements and took action against Schering on the basis that it had violated federal antitrust law by entering into the agreements. In March 2005, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the settlements did not violate antitrust law. In the wake of the US Supreme Court refusal to hear the appeal, a bipartisan group of four senators introduced legislation to ban settlements between brand-name and generic pharmaceutical companies that include both payments and delays. For more information, visit: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ For the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, visit: http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200410688.pdf; and for the progress of the case through the US courts system, see: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/05-273.htm Summary by: Sue Diaz