Paula Dwyer , Columnist

Consumers Win in Supreme Court's Pay-to-Delay Ruling

The Supreme Court struck a blow for consumers by siding with the Federal Trade Commission in a case that makes it harder for drug companies to keep generics off the market.

June 17, 2013 at 5:46 PM EDT

By Paula Dwyer

Paula Dwyer is a senior editor with the New York editing hub, focusing on daily and long-form enterprise. She was London bureau chief for Businessweek and Washington economics editor for the New York Times, and is a co-author of “Take on the Street: How to Fight for Your Financial Future.

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It may come as a surprise to you that brand-name pharmaceutical companies have been paying generic-drug makers large sums to keep low-cost products off the market. The Federal Trade Commission for years has tried to have the payments declared anti-competitive -- and thus illegal -- but federal courts haven't gone along.

Until today. The U.S. Supreme Court handed the FTC a major victory by ruling 5-3 that such pay-to-delay arrangements can run afoul of antitrust laws.

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