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DOJ Antitrust Division Declares Reverse Settlements “Presumptively Unlawful”
July 20, 2009 Full PDF
Departing from positions it took in a series of cases decided during the Bush administration, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division argued recently - in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - that so-called "reverse settlement" agreements in the pharmaceutical industry should be treated as "presumptively unlawful" under the antitrust laws. The Antitrust Division's brief suggests a closer alignment with the positions taken on reverse settlement agreements by the Federal Trade Commission and may signal a likelihood of more aggressive enforcement activity by both government agencies with respect to such agreements in the future.