THE “RULE OF REASON” PREFERRED TO “SCOPE OF PATENT” ANALYSIS WHEN DETERMINING WHETHER A REVERSE PAYMENT IS LEGAL IN THE THIRD CIRCUIT: IN RE K DUR ANTITRUST LITIGATION

LINDA M. POSTOL

The Sherman Antitrust Act, passed by Congress in 1890, was a landmark decision aimed at regulating business practices that unfairly restrict trade in the marketplace. More recently, Congress passed the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly known as the Hatch Waxman Act aimed at facilitating the availability of lower priced generic drugs in the market by allowing a generic manufacturer a quicker route to approval by relying on safety testing done by the brand name manufacturer along with an exclusive time period where no other generic manufacturer can apply for approval.Continue Reading…