The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation (S 316) that would prohibit brand-name pharmaceutical companies from paying generic drug companies to delay market introduction of generic competitors, CQ Today reports. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), was approved by a voice vote with no amendments. The bill is aimed at settlements in patent disputes that increasingly include agreements to delay generic competition in exchange for payments from brand-name companies to generic drug makers -- a practice known as exclusion payment settlements, according to the Federal Trade Commission. According to FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz, the commission tried to ban the practice in the past. However, two appellate court decisions in 2005 "took a lenient view of the agreements," CQ Today reports. At a January hearing of the Judiciary Committee, Leibowitz said, "Exclusion payment settlements are highly profitable for brand-name and generic firms. If such payments are lawful, companies have compelling incentives to use them." Leibowitz added, "Such settlements restrict competition at the expense of consumers, whose access to lower-priced generic drugs is delayed, sometimes for many years." Some Republicans have "expressed misgivings" about the bill and "indicated that without significant changes," they would oppose it on the Senate floor, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 2/15). Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said the bill "takes away some legitimate rights of consumers" (CongressDaily, 2/15).

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