Few courts have addressed antitrust challenges to pharmaceutical “product hopping,” i.e., the practice of shifting customers from a drug nearing the end of its patent protection to a modified version that is covered by newer patents and thus is protected from generic competition for a longer period of time. The Second Circuit recently became the first Court of Appeals to do so in People of the State of New York v. Actavis, Case No. 14-4624 (2d Cir. May 28, 2015). It upheld a preliminary injunction prohibiting Actavis from ceasing production of an Alzheimer’s drug in advance of its July 2015 patent expiration, a move Actavis intended to shift patients to an extended-release version of the drug which is patented through 2029. The decision has significant implications for the pharmaceutical
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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addresses pharmaceutical “product hopping” in decision barring a producer from pulling older version of drug from shelves (Actavis)
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