EU Penalizes Reverse Payment Settlement

Mitchell IP Law As if in counterpoint to the United States Supreme Court decision in FTC v Actavis, Inc., the European Commission has assessed $125.6 million in fines against the Danish company, H. Lundbeck A/S for reverse payment settlements with generic competitors entered into in 2002. The beneficiary generics included Merck, Ranbaxy, and Xellia. The United States Supreme Court, as you are aware from our recent alert, has found that such settlements are acceptable if they pass our rule of reason test for determining anti-trust violations. Please let us know if you would like us to ascertain further details concerning the EU decision.