From SAMHSA's Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition - September 10, 2010: On September 7, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider its April decision upholding the legality of so called "pay-for-delay" patent settlements, in which brand name drug makers pay generic competitors to delay the introduction of generic versions of their drugs. A group of direct and indirect drug purchasers, including CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. challenged a settlement under which Bayer AG paid Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. to delay the introduction of the generic version of a Bayer antibiotic. In April, a three judge panel from the appeals court ruled in favor of the legality of the settlement. However, citing the "exceptional importance" of the case’s antitrust implications, the panel urged the group of drug purchasers to request that the full circuit court review the case. That court rejected that request, and the case could now go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

View the September 10 Financing News Pulse: National Edition here (PDF | 280.93 KB)