In the lucrative US pharmaceutical market, generic and patent holders of drugs have increasingly chosen to settle patent challenge disputes, than to fight them in court.
Also see | Sharing the spoils(PDF)
Generic companies, including Indian firms that have done such settlements, benefit because it provides certainty of income for their efforts and lowers litigation costs. Innovator companies get a little more breathing space, before their cash cow products turn generic.
But the US FederalTrade Commission believes these settlements limit access to affordable medicines and wants them blocked.
Graphic by Yogesh Kumar/Mint
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