The EU Court of Justice rules that pay-for-delay patent settlements may restrict competition by object (Generics - UK / GlaxoSmithKline / Actavis / Xellia Pharmaceuticals / Merck / Alpharma)

On 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “ECJ”) handed down its judgment in Case C-307/18, Generics (UK) and Others. This case marks the first time the ECJ has ruled on patent settlement agree- ments between originator pharmaceutical companies and generic producers. Depending on the circumstances, such agreements may prevent generic versions of a patented medicine from entering the market or may delay such entry. The ECJ held that pay-for-delay agreements may be infringements of competition by their very object. The case was referred to the ECJ by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”), which had to rule on whether the UK Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) had lawfully fined manufacturers of generic medicines and the pharmaceutical