An appeals court has again shot down a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit attempting to brand pay-for-delay pharmaceutical settlement deals anti-competitive – casting more doubt on the chances of its long-running bid to end the deals succeeding in the courtroom.

US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz says fighting against “pay-for-delay” settlements in pharmaceutical patent litigation will continue to be a priority for the commission should he be given a second term as chairman.

Thomas Rosch, a commissioner at the US Federal Trade Commission, has asked a key US lawmaker to deny an attempt to attach pay-for-delay patent settlement reform to a larger, unrelated debt reduction bill.

The US Supreme Court has let an appeals court ruling stand allowing pharmaceutical companies to strike so-called ‘pay-for-delay’ deals with generic drug makers without violating antitrust law.

The European Commission has raided pharmaceutical companies over alleged abuse of dominance in delaying generic drugs from entering the market.

Several pharmaceutical companies have told a US appeals court that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) attempt to overturn a failed pay-for-delay prosecution should be thrown out.

Indications of reverse payments in pharmaceutical patent settlements will always draw antitrust scrutiny from the European Commission, a DG Comp official tells delegates. Faaez Samadi in Brussels

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission, offered his assessment of the FTC’s performance over the past 12 months, at the Georgetown Law fourth annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium. Emily Gray in Washington, DC

The US Federal Trade Commission has fought back against charges that it acted improperly in investigating an alleged pay-for-delay pharmaceutical deal by disclosing confidential business secrets and attempting to broker a behind-the-scenes deal between two drug makers.