An Interview With The Head Of The FTC
The AP interviewed FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras late last week about competition in the prescription drug markets. Some highlights from to the article:
FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said she is concerned that payments by brand-name drugmakers to their generic rivals may be nothing more than payoffs to keep cheap drugs off the market, depriving consumers of low-cost medicines. “There is no question we’ve taken some hits on this,” Majoras said in an interview with The Associated Press. But “we are not walking away.” … Majoras said it is apparent that drug companies are not especially worried about the FTC threat since they continue to negotiate new patent settlements. However, “they do so at their own peril,” she warned. … Majoras declined to say if the FTC instigated the Justice Department’s criminal probe into the arrangement among the drug companies. … Majoras said she is concerned that there will be even more settlements as numerous blockbusters are set to lose patent protection soon. Drugs with combined sales of $48 billion will lose patent protection between 2006 and 2010, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager. She said the agency is closely examining the case it lost to see how it should change its strategy going forward. She declined to disclose specifics, but did suggest the agency will be more careful about which court it chooses to file a challenge.
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