Nexium Ruling Could Harm Antitrust Enforcement: FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has weighed in on a “pay-for-delay” court battle involving the popular drug Nexium, saying the case has huge implications for antitrust enforcement (In re Nexium Antitrust Litig., 1st Cir., 15-02005, brief filed 2/12/16).

In a recently filed amicus brief, the commission urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to correct a lower court’s holding that a plaintiff must prove an injury-in-fact in order to establish an antitrust violation.

The case involves charges that AstraZeneca LP made a substantial “reverse settlement” payment to keep a generic version of heartburn drug ...