Federal Trade Commission v. Abbvie Inc.

107 F. Supp. 3d 428, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59115
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 6, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 14-5151
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 107 F. Supp. 3d 428 (Federal Trade Commission v. Abbvie Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Federal Trade Commission v. Abbvie Inc., 107 F. Supp. 3d 428, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59115 (E.D. Pa. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

BARTLE, District Judge.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) brings this action for injunctive and other equitable relief under § 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), against defendants AbbVie, Inc. (“AbbVie”), Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott”), Unimed Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“Unimed” and, together with AbbVie and Abbott, the “AbbVie Defendants”)1, Be-sins Healthcare, Inc. (“Besins”), and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (“Teva”). The AbbVie Defendants and Besins 'together hold U.S. Patent No. 6,503,894 (the “'894 Patent”) for a popular brand-name testosterone drug, AndroGel. Teva was developing a generic version of the drug that, according to the complaint, falls outside the scope of the patent.

The FTC alleges that Abbott, Unimed, and Besins initiated sham, patent infringement litigation against Teva in the District of Delaware for the sole purpose of delaying the entry of its generic drug into the AndroGel market. - The lawsuit settled thereafter. In the FTC’s view, the settlement involved a large, unjustified reverse payment by the patentees to the claimed infringer, Teva, in violation of the FTC Act and' the dictates of the Supreme Court’s decision in FTC v. Actavis, — U.S.-, 133 S.Ct. 2223, 186 L.Ed.2d 343 (2013).

The FTC asserts that what occurred here amounts to unfair methods of competition under the FTC Act. In Count I. of the complaint it claims monopolization against the AbbVie Defendants and Besins for initiating, the alleged sham litigations against Teva. Count II presents a claim for restraint of trade against the AbbVie Defendants and Teva arising out of the settlement of their lawsuit.

■ Before the court is the motion of the AbbVie Defendants and Teva under Rule ' 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss Count II of the com[431]*431plaint, and the motion of the AbbVie Defendants and Besins to dismiss Count I to the extent it is based on the settlement of the litigation in the District of Delaware involving Abbott, Unimed, Besins, and Teva. ' ■■

I.

When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must accept as true all factual allegations in the complaint and draw all inferences in'the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir.2008); Umland v. PLANCO Fin. Servs., Inc., 542 F.3d 59, 64 (3d Cir.2008). We must then determine whether the pleading at issue “contain[s] sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). A claim must do more than raise a “mere possibility of misconduct.” Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 211 (3d Cir.2009) (quoting Iqbal 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937). Under this standard, “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court may consider “allegations contained in the complaint, exhibits attached to the complaint and matters of public record.” Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. White Consol. Indus,, Inc., 998 F.2d 1192, 1196 (3d Cir.1993) (citing 5A Charles Allen Wright' & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1357 (2d ed.1990)).

II.

To put the FTC’s allegations in the proper context, it is first necessary to describe the statutory background governing the approval of drugs such as AndroGel. Before a drug can be sold on the market, it must go through an approval process with the U.S. Food and 'Drug Administration (“FDA”) pursuant to authority granted under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act' (“FDC Act”), 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., to regulate the drug’s manufacture and sale.2 21 U.S.C. § 355(a). The FDC Act requires the sponsor of a drug to demonstrate to the agency’s satisfaction that the drug is safe and effective for its intended uses. Id. § 355(b)(1).

As amended by the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act (the “Hatch-Waxman Act”), and .the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, the FDC Act also establishes procedures designed to promote competition through the approval of lower-priced generic drugs while maintaining patent-based incentives for continued investment in the development of new brand-name drugs. See id. §§ 355(b)(2), 355(j); 35 U.S.C. § 271(e). Generic drugs usually differ from their brand-name counterparts only in their inactive ingredients. According to the complaint, the retail price of a generic drug is on average 75% less costly than that of a brand-name drug.

A company seeking approval of a new brand-name drug must file with the FDA a New Drug Application (“NDA”). 21 U.S.C.

[432]*432§ 355(b)(1). The NDA must contain: research supporting the safety and effectiveness of the drug; a list of its ingredients; an explanation of the methods used to manufacture, process, and package the drug; samples of the product; and other information. Id. An applicant seeking FDA approval for a generic drug, however, may submit either a “505(b)(2)” application, which relies upon the data of a previously approved NDA, or an Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”). Id. §§ 355(b)(2), (j). If the generic company’s application implicates a brand-name drug covered by a patent, the generic company must also certify in its 505(b)(2) application or ANDA that “such patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use, or sale of the new drug for which the application is submitted.” Id. §§ 355(b)(2)(A)(iv); (j)(2)(A)(vii)(IV). This is known as a “Paragraph IV certification.”

The generic company must additionally notify the patentee that it is seeking generic approval so that the patentee can take any necessary steps to protect its intellectual property. Id. § 355(b)(3)(A). The filing of a Paragraph IV certification with the FDA is treated as a technical act of patent infringement which permits the patentee to bring an infringement action. See 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(2)(A); Caraco Pharm. Labs., Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/S, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
107 F. Supp. 3d 428, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-trade-commission-v-abbvie-inc-paed-2015.