The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday that it had filed a complaint against Endo Pharmaceuticals and several other drug companies alleging that it violated antitrust laws by paying settlements to drug makers to delay the introduction of generic versions of Opana ER and Lidoderm.
The FTC said this is the first case that’s challenged an agreement to not market an authorized generic of a particular drug, which it calls no-AG commitments.
“Settlements between drug firms that include ‘no-AG commitments’ harm consumers twice — first by delaying the entry of generic drugs and then by preventing additional generic competition in the market following generic entry,” FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said. “This lawsuit reflects the FTC’s commitment to stopping pay-for-delay agreements that inflate the prices of prescription drugs and harm competition, regardless of the form they take.”
The complaint alleges that Endo paid Impax Laboratories and Watson Laboratories, which were the first companies to file for FDA approval for generics of Endo’s Opana ER and Lidoderm — actions that violate the Federal Trade Commission Act. It charges that Endo in 2010 agreed not to market a generic of Opana ER (which the branded drugmaker is allowed to do at any time) until 2013, paid $112 million to Impax and moved patients over to a new Opana ER formulation, which the FTC said kept “its monopoly power even after Impax’s generic entry.”
Additionally, the FTC contends that in May 2012, Endo paid Watson hundreds of millions of dollars — including $96 million worth of free branded Lidoderm patches — in order to keep Watson from competing with Endo and partner companies Teikoku Seiyaku and Teikoku Pharma. The complaint also alleges that Endo and Watson agreed that Endo wouldn’t introduce its generic version of Lidoderm for about seven months after September 2013. This move, according to the FTC, “ left Watson as the only generic version of Lidoderm on the market, substantially reducing competition and increasing prices for generic lidocaine patches.”
The complaint also names Endo parent company Endo International and Watson parent company Allergan. Alongside the complaint, the FTC also filed a stipulated order of permanent injunction against Teikoku Seiyaki and Teikoku Pharma, preventing them for 20 years from engaging in some types of reverse-payment agreements, including no-AG commitments. It does not restrict settlement agreements whose value are unlikely to present antitrust concerns.
Full Content: The Wall Street Journal
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Federal Antitrust Trial Explores Potential Impact of Tapestry-Capri Merger
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Australia Targets Big Tech with New Fines for Misinformation
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Mastercard to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm Recorded Future for $2.65 Billion
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Ireland Prime Minister: Apple’s €13 Billion Payment Could Fund Housing and Capital Projects
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Regulators Probe Swisscom’s $8.8 Billion Vodafone Italia Deal
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Canada & Mexico
Sep 3, 2024 by
CPI
Competitive Convergence: Mexico’s 30-Year Quest for Antitrust Parity with its Northern Neighbor
Sep 3, 2024 by
Francisco Javier Núñez Melgoza
Competition and Digital Markets in North America: A Comparative Study of Antitrust Investigations in Mexico and the United States
Sep 3, 2024 by
Julio Garcia
Recent Antitrust Development in Mexico: COFECE’s Preliminary Report on Amazon and Mercado Libre
Sep 3, 2024 by
Alejandra Palacios Prieto
The Cost of Making COFECE Disappear
Sep 3, 2024 by
Mateo Fernández