The Supreme Court wants the White House to give its opinion on whether it should review a closely watched case that challenges patent settlements between brand-name and generic drugmakers.

The court has yet to make a decision about whether it ultimately would hear the appeal, which involves a lawsuit challenging a deal between Barr Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca involving the cancer drug Tamoxifen. For now, the court asked US Solicitor General Paul Clement of the Justice Department to file a brief outlining the administration’s position.

During its last term, the court declined a request by the Federal Trade Commission to review the same issue in a case involving Schering-Plough. In that case, the US solicitor general filed a brief at the court’s invitation and recommended denying a review, saying the case was a poor vehicle for examining antitrust issues involved. In this latest case, neither the FTC nor the Justice Department has weighed in.

Further reading….
Reuters;
Legal Times.

[tags]AstraZeneca, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Generics, Patents[/tags]