So, the Supreme Court will decide two interesting cases. The one below will decide whether or not a brand name manufacturer can simply pay generic companies not to bring generic drugs to market:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are pressing the Supreme Court to stop big pharmaceutical corporations from paying generic drug competitors to delay releasing their cheaper versions of brand-name drugs. They argue these deals deny American consumers, usually for years, steep price declines that can top 90 percent
Source: The Associated Press: Court: Can drug companies pay to delay generics?
The second is whether or not generic manufacturers can be held liable if their drugs injure consumers. One of the arguments against letting generic manufacturers be sued is that they may take their products off the market due to the cost of litigation. This is an entirely false argument if for no other reason than generic manufacturers can buy insurance that covers any payouts.
But, if you accept the premise that it’s too important to make sure generic drugs are on the market to allow generic manufacturers to be sued, then you should also accept the premise that brand name companies shouldn’t be allowed to pay to keep generics off the market. It will be interesting to see which justices rule which way on both cases.