Last Thursday, the House passed H.R. 4899 –the War Funding Bill– that included the “Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act” that amended the Federal Trade Commission Act, codified in 15 U.S.C. 44 et seq., to include a new Sec. 28. Under this Act, the FTC would have the authority to initiate a civil action against any party to an agreement settling a pharmaceutical patent case with what is commonly referred to as “reverse payments” or “pay-for-delay agreements.” Fully supporting the passage of this bill, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz stated that “Congress has taken a critical step towards ending a practice that is dramatically increasing the cost of prescription drugs.”

View full memo, "House Passes War Funding Bill that Includes the “Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act” that Makes Agreements to Settle Hatch-Waxman Patent Infringement Actions Presumptively Anticompetitive"