The FTC Looks To Revive Endo Antitrust Appeal

Endo’s pending bankruptcy should not block the US Federal Trade Commission from challenging the dismissal of an antitrust complaint it filed against the pharmaceutical company, the agency told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Thursday.

The FTC has asked the DC Circuit to reinstate a briefing schedule in the litigation, after the appeals court in August paused the case pending Endo’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the Southern District of New York.

The drugmaker filed for bankruptcy amid its effort to resolve more than 3,100 lawsuits over its alleged role in the national opioid epidemic. U.S. law can automatically freeze certain legal actions until bankruptcy proceedings are resolved. Endo has asked a US bankruptcy judge to pause hundreds of state and local government lawsuits.

In the DC Circuit, the FTC argued the bankruptcy code’s automatic stay provision “does not apply to government enforcement of its police and regulatory power, an exception that applies foursquare to this case.” The agency’s underlying complaint, filed in 2021, alleged Endo struck a deal with Impax Laboratories LLC in 2017 that curbed competition for extended release oxymorphone.

“The sooner the FTC can secure an injunction against the agreement, the sooner consumers should realize the benefit of lower prices from competitive entry by Endo or third parties,” FTC attorneys told the D.C. Circuit.

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