Pay-For-Delay Agreements Essay Samples

Emily Johnson

Post Office Box 196
Columbia
The Honorable Chuck Schumer, Senator
Post Office Box 142
Columbia, S.C. 29202-0142

Dear Senator Schumer,

My name is Emily Johnson and I am a resident of the City of Columbia. Currently, I am a second year law student at Columbia University. I write to draw your attention to the problem of ‘pay-for-delay’ which has crippled the American pharmaceutical industry for several years. My intention is that after going through this letter, you will find sufficient reason to shun the legislation of laws that may support or otherwise encourage this practice as it has had numerous adverse effects on the entire American population.
In pay-for-delay agreements, established brand-name drug companies seek to survive by paying off their would-be competitors to make them delay the production of cheaper versions of their drugs. These are usually generic drugs that are more affordable than and just as effective as those produced by established companies (FTC v. Watson Pharma 2). According to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports, these deals are becoming increasingly common in both Europe and America (Einer and Alex 14).
Pay-for-delay deals must be opposed by American legislatures for a number of reasons. One, the practice has denied Americans access to important generic drugs that could be used to treat such diseases as heart diseases, cancer and many other chronic diseases. This is because many people cannot afford the more expensive versions produced by the leading pharmaceutical firms.
Secondly, pay-for-delay deals have perpetuated monopoly in the American pharmaceutical industries. With the deals, brand-name drug companies have been able to buy off any potential competition for smaller companies that can produce cheaper generic drugs. This has made drugs very expensive for Americans, most of whom are barely able to pay their bills during the hard economic times in the country today.
It is my sincere prayer that you will be able to ventilate on the issues raised here with other legislators. I would be very happy if you considered enacting laws that restrict pay-for-delay deals on the strength of this letter. Thank you very much for taking your time to read my letter.
Emily Johnson

Work Cited

FTC v. Watson Pharma, 09-cv-00955 (N.D. GA), Second Amended Complaint, May 28, 2009, at para. 65 (disclosing that pay-for-delay agreements on September 13, 2006 included an agreed delay of generic entry until August 31, 2015) available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0710060/090528androgelfinalcmpt.pdf. Thus pay-for-delay settlements delayed generic Androgel from at least Jan. 2007 to Aug. 2015, amounting to 104 months, or 8.7 years
Einer, Elhauge, and Alex, Krueger. "Solving the Patent Settlement Puzzle". Texas Law Revie, 29 September 2012.