The Sheppard Mullin Antitrust Law Blog has been updated with current antitrust regulatory and litigation matters published by the Antitrust Practice Group, based in the Washington, D.C. office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.
In Schering-Plough Corp. v. Federal Trade Commission, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 3811, (11th. Cir. 2005), the Eleventh Circuit addressed the antitrust implications of settlements of patent suits in the context of the Hatch-Waxman regulatory regime that involve payments from the patent holder to the alleged infringer. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, a generic drug manufacturer may be approved to market its generic drug without expensive and time-consuming safety studies if its drug is the bioequivalent of a pioneer drug that is already approved for marketing. In order to receive this approval, the generic manufacturer must certify that the relevant patents on the brand name drug are either invalid or will not be infringed by the generic drug. The pioneer manufacturer is then notified of the generic's desire to enter the market; if the pioneer manufacturer sues for patent infringement within forty-five days of receiving notice, Hatch-Waxman imposes a thirty month stay on FDA approval of the generic.
Continue Reading...In a reversal of the dismissal of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) complaint, alleging violations of Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 3 of the Clayton Act, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found Dentsply International Inc. ("Dentsply") guilty of illegal monopoly power maintenance. DOJ opted not to appeal adverse district court rulings on the Sherman Act Section 1 and the Clayton Act Section 3 claims. The court remanded for the entry of the injunctive relief prayed for.
Continue Reading...It has been almost one year since the world of European antitrust enforcement was radically reformed. The new EU antitrust regime is characterized by more proactive enforcement, increased co-operation, and better priority setting. The changes resulted from the efforts of former European Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti, whose commitment to antitrust reform ensured that all the necessary regulatory instruments were in place by May 1, 2004. While no firm conclusions can be drawn because the reference period is relatively short (and, some powers have yet to be exercised, or have not had any reported outcome), what follows is a short overview of the enforcement of the new EU competition rules during the past eleven months.
Continue Reading...The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari in a Robinson-Patman Act ("RPA") case. In Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc. v. Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp., 374 F.3d 701 (8th Cir. 2004), cert. granted, 73 U.S.LW. 3402, 3524 (2005), a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit had affirmed a jury verdict for the plaintiff on an RPA claim. Plaintiff truck dealer, a reseller of Volvo trucks, asserted that it had lost bids to non-Volvo competitors for the sale of trucks because Volvo had refused to provide plaintiff with price concessions that would have enabled plaintiff to bid successfully.
Continue Reading...The Federal Trade Commission is on a campaign to reduce health care costs. One way to rein them in is to challenge consummated hospital mergers that, in the FTC's view, have resulted in dramatic price increases for patients, insurers, employers, and other payers.
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