Pay for Delay: U.S. Says Drugmakers Block Cheaper Generic Rivals
May 5, 2011
Fox Business
By Elizabeth MacDonald
The Federal Trade Commission has found an "unprecedented" 60% jump in drug industry "pay for delay" deals that stall consumers' access to cheaper generic drugs, hurting consumers' and taxpayers' wallets.
The report could lay the groundwork for even more antitrust, anti-monopoly actions the government has increasingly been bringing against Big Pharma.
Drug companies “struck an unprecedented number of deals” in fiscal 2010, where drug makers of brand name pharmaceuticals paid “potential generic rivals and generic companies to defer the introduction of lower-cost medicines for American consumers, the FTC said in a statement. Read more