A proposal to end those controversial ‘pay-to-delay’ deals between brand-name and generic drugmakers was passed by the House of Representatives last night as part of a measure to fund wars. Ironic, yes? Or maybe appropriate. In any event, the bill now goes to the Senate, Bloomberg News reports.

Under the proposal, drugmakers could be fined if the Federal Trade Commission or the courts determine they struck deals to preserve a brand-name drug patent by delaying introduction of a lower-priced generic equivalent (see page 74). This is “just another signal of the growing support in Congress for ending this unconscionable behavior by some pharmaceutical companies,” FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz tells the news service.

The FTC, you may recall, has made a mission of ending these deals and succeeded in having a similar provision included in the recently passed health care reform bill, although that proposal didn’t survive the final legislation. In any event, the Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that ending pay-fo-delay deals could save the government $1.8 billion in health costs over the next 10 years (see here).

Passage in the Senate isn’t assured, Bloomberg notes, adding that Senators Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, and Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said at a recent hearing they are concerned the FTC campaign against the deals may discourage agreements that benefit consumers. And not surprisingly, drugmakers are lobbying against the provision, saying the deals avoid timely and costly litigation that prevent lower-priced generics from reaching consumers sooner.

“This is sweeping legislation that doesn’t make a distinction between pro-competitive and anti-competitive settlements,” Debra Barrett, senior vp of government affairs at Teva Pharmaceutical, tells Bloomberg, adding that the deals often help consumers, Barrett said. As an example, Teva points to a recent deal that allowed it to introduce a version of Wyeth’s Effexor antidepressant seven years earlier than the patent would have allowed.

The legislation gives drug companies 30 days to appeal an FTC ruling on any deal.