The Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia rejects a challenge to an FTC rule that makes the HSR Act reporting requirements cover pharmaceutical patent licenses that transfer all commercially significant rights (PhRMA)

The D.C. Circuit has rejected a challenge by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ("PhRMA") to an FTC rule that makes the HSR Act reporting requirements cover pharmaceutical patent licenses that transfer "all commercially significant rights." The rule, adopted in 2013, broadened the HSR Act's notification and waiting requirements to include pharmaceutical patent licenses as potentially reportable transactions even where the licensor retained manufacturing rights. The appeals court affirmed the lower court's decision, noting that the intent of the premerger notification statute is to improve the enforcement capabilities of federal antitrust agencies before transactions are consummated, and holding that the agency's rulemaking is entitled to deference under the Chevron