Overweening patent settlements becoming rarer, says EC
Show a decline of 10% between July 2008 and December 2009
The European Commission has claimed that the number of patent settlements between drug developers and generic producers that could break European Union (EU) anti-trust laws are falling after a 2009 study raised concerns about the problem.
The survey discovered that 93 such agreements were concluded between originator and generic companies from July 2008 to December 2009.
This compares with 207 agreements concluded from January 2000 to June 2008, indicating a decline of 10%.
The Commission is concerned about agreements that prevent generic companies from exploiting drug designs over a period of time or geographical area, beyond the protection covered in a patent.
‘This would suggest an increased awareness of the industry of which settlement agreements might attract competition law scrutiny,’ said the Commission.