STAT Plus: Generic trade group sues California for an ‘unconstitutional’ law banning pay-to-delay deals
A newly enacted California law that bans so-called pay-to-delay deals between drug makers would reduce competition and consequently lead to higher prices for medicines, according to a lawsuit recently filed by a trade group for generic drug companies.
In these deals, a brand-name drug maker settles a patent lawsuit by paying cash or transferring something else of value to an erstwhile generic rival, which agrees to delay launching a copycat medicine until a specific date in the future. This gives the brand-name drug maker more time to sell its medicine without lower-cost competition.
