A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld summary judgment granted to drug companies sued for violating antitrust laws through so-called “pay-for-delay” patent settlements. But the case is far from over.
Eastern District of New York Judge David Trager had granted summary judgment to Bayer AG and other defendants in 2005 on charges they violated the Sherman Act, §1, when they agreed to a reverse exclusionary payment settlement on a patent recognition on the drug Cipro. Bayer agreed to pay money to makers of generic versions of Cipro and in return the companies conceded the validity of the Cipro patent. Plaintiffs who purchased Cipro said this was collusion that blocked the lower-cost generic versions of the drug from hitting the market.
