FTC Probes Drug Firms’ Patent Deals

The federal government is stepping up scrutiny into how major pharmaceutical companies fight off generic competitors from producing cheaper copies of their top-selling drugs.

Industry analysts said they expect little to come of the investigation because they believe the companies, such as Eli Lilly and Dupont, are acting within their rights.

The Federal Trade Commission is looking at deals drug companies have with potential rivals and other activities undertaken to protect their patents.

In December, for example, Eli Lilly formed an agreement to buy a modified form of Prozac from Sepracor, a company that specializes in removing dangerous side effects from established drugs and licensing the rights back to the manufacturer. The FTC is requesting more information on that deal, Lilly said.

The deal is valuable to Lilly because Prozac is expected to lose patent protection in the next two years.

Regulatory concerns have been fueled as drug prices continue to increase.