(CN) - The 3rd Circuit blazed a possible path to the Supreme Court with its ruling that pharmaceutical companies' payments to keep generic drugs off the market should be treated as "evidence of an unreasonable restraint of trade."
The ruling is at odds with decisions from the 2nd Circuit, the 11th Circuit and the D.C. Circuit, which have upheld the so-called "pay-to-delay" settlements between brand-name and generic drug makers.
The agreements stem from the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act, meant to lower drug costs by streamlining the process of obtaining Food and Drug Administration approval for generic drugs.
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http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/07/27/48776.htm
