‘Pay for Delay’ Drug Deals Should Be Halted, FTC Tells Court

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission urged an appeals court to outlaw certain settlements between brand-drug manufacturers and generic-drug makers over the timing of sales of copycat medicines, saying they harm competition and hurt consumers.

The agency asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to reverse a lower court’s ruling that accords between Merck & Co.’s Schering-Plough unit and generic manufacturers of K-Dur 20 high blood-pressure medicine didn’t violate antitrust laws.