MARCH 2007
Splitting the pharmaceutical pie
Brand pharmaceutical companies sometimes agree to share profits from their patented drugs with generic manufacturers to keep rival products off the market. James Walsh and Lisa Huett consider the legality of these so-called reverse payments under Australian law in light of increasing attacks from antitrust authorities overseas
Intellectual property rights are used effectively by companies around the world to raise barriers to entry into markets. This is precisely what competition laws are designed to prevent. Reverse payments in pharmaceutical patent infringement settlements provide a fertile ground for this conflict.
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