Settlements in Second Generation Cases

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Settlements in the second generation are more complicated and involve complex side deals
Payment in these settlements is not in strict cash but in some other type of benefit that's more difficult to detect
In some settlements, the major benefit is value flowing to the generic in exchange for staying off the market
There are cases where a brand name company pays a generic that has never existed or done anything to market the brand name company
In one case, the brand company paid the generic to manufacture the product

Robin Feldman of the University of California Hastings College of Law and author of Drug Wars talks about her book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Feldman explores the various ways that pharmaceutical companies try to reduce competition from generic drugs. The conversation includes a discussion of the Hatch-Waxman Act and the sometimes crazy world of patent protection.