Reverse Payment Settlements Suffer Reversal Of Fortune At Third Circuit

FTC ends its losing streak on patent settlement suits as the Third Circuit says “rule of reason” rather than “scope of patent” analysis should be applied to brand/generic settlements; appeals court reinstates suit by direct purchasers challenging Schering’s payments to Upsher-Smith and ESI Lederle.

The Federal Trade Commission finally got some good news in its long battle to halt reverse payment settlements between brand and generic companies when an appeals court reversed a district court’s dismissal of a suit challenging K-Dur patent settlements.

In a July 16 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the “scope of...