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US: Will new legislation banning ‘pay-for-delay’ finally pass?

By  |  February 5, 2013

The US Senate is reportedly considering a new bill introduced that would effectively ban so-called “pay-for-delay” deals between pharmaceutical companies. The legislation, with a bipartisan introduction given on Tuesday, would aim to maintain a healthy competitive market as pharmaceutical giants pay their generic counterparts to keep those less expensive generics off the shelves. Name brand manufacturers do-so as a way to resolve patent disputes, which generics potentially infringe upon. The bill is sponsored by Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Grassley was recently appointed as the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel. Similar legislation has failed to pass through Congress in the past due to fights from the pharmaceutical giants the bills would affect. The issue has been on the radar of competition authorities in both the US and Europe.

 

Full Content: Reuters

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