Drugmakers Exposed to Antitrust Probes if Patent Cache Added (1)

A proposed patent office depository for sealed settlements could expose pharmaceutical giants to antitrust scrutiny if investigators use it to identify which companies may have coaxed biosimilar makers to drop patent challenges to maintain exclusivity.

The US Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rulemaking published last month would create a repository for all settlement agreements linked to patent challenges at the office’s administrative tribunal. The proposal would expand the requirement for when companies have to file detailed reports after reaching a deal, which happens nearly one-third of the time patents are challenged, according to the proposal.

The office specified that the ...