Regulation, Innovation and Competition in Pharmaceutical Markets: A Comparative Study

This book explores the fundamental and inextricable relationship between regulation, intellectual property, competition law, and public health in pharmaceutical markets, examining their interconnections and the delicate balance between the various interests and policy goals at stake. Although pharmaceutical markets are heavily regulated and subject to close antitrust scrutiny, there is a constant requirement for existing rules and policies to tackle a number of persistent, complex issues. The variety of anti-competitive practices occurring in this sector, the worrying rise in drug prices, and major, far-reaching concerns over the accessibility of medicines are sources of frequent controversy in academic and policy debates. Understanding the unique features and dynamics of the pharmaceutical industry requires a tailored and multifaceted approach. The study is enhanced by the adoption of a comparative perspective, tracing convergence and divergence between EU and US systems through the analysis of relevant applicable rules, significant cases, and policy choices. Pursuant to this rigorous approach, the book provides an original and thought-provoking critique of the challenges of regulating pharmaceutical markets.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 I. The Different Faces of Pharmaceutical Markets 1 II. Purpose and Scope of the Analysis 3 III. Methodology 7 IV. Structure of the Book 9 PART I 1. Regulating Entry 15 I. The Main Features of Pharmaceutical Markets: The Supply Side and the Demand Side 15 II. The Product Life Cycle and the Costs of Innovation 20 III. The Access to the Market: Regulatory Approaches 23 A. The European Regulatory Framework 23 B. The US Regulatory Framework 27 IV. Concluding Remarks 33 2. Regulating Exclusivity 34 I. The Interplay between Regulatory Exclusivities and Intellectual Property Rights 34 II. Intellectual Property Rights in the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Overview on the Role of Patents 35 III. EU Supplementary Protection Certificate and US Patent Term Restoration 41 IV. Regulatory Exclusivity 48 V. Research and Bolar Exemptions 52 VI. Exhaustion Doctrine and Parallel Trade 59 VII. Concluding Remarks 63 3. Regulating Prices 64 I. Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Systems in Europe 64 II. The US System 70 III. Concluding Remarks 76 viii Contents PART II 4. Competition Law Enforcement in Pharmaceutical Markets: An Introduction 79 I. EU and US Antitrust Rules: An Essential Overview 79 II. Antitrust Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Sector 87 III. Market Definition 95 IV. Concluding Remarks 100 5. Reverse Payment Patent Settlements 102 I. The Recurrence of Reverse Payment Patent Settlements in Pharmaceutical Markets 102 II. Reverse Payment Patent Settlements in the United States 105 A. Earlier Case Law and the Actavis Ruling 105 B. Critical Issues after Actavis 109 C. Further Developments 113 III. EU Case Law on Reverse Payment Patent Settlements 119 A. Lundbeck 120 B. Generics 123 IV. Comparative Analysis 127 A. Legal Frameworks 127 B. The Antitrust Assessment 129 V. Concluding Remarks 134 6. Product Hopping 136 I. Pharmaceutical Product Reformulations 136 II. Product Hopping before US Courts 140 III. The EU Experience 146 IV. The Antitrust Assessment of Product Reformulation 151 V. Concluding Remarks 155 7. Excessive Drug Pricing 157 I. The Resurgence of Excessive Pricing Cases in the Pharmaceutical Sector 157 II. Excessive Pricing under EU Competition Law 161 A. Aspen 165 III. The US Approach 169 IV. The Role of Antitrust Enforcement on Excessive Drug Prices 176 V. Concluding Remarks 178 Contents ix PART III 8. Further Interactions: Pharmaceutical Markets, Intellectual Property and Human Rights 183 I. The Right to Health and Access to Medicines and the Relationship with Intellectual Property Rights: An Overview 183 II. Compulsory Licensing 191 III. Concluding Remarks 196 9. Public Health and Public Interest in Competition Law 198 I. Public Health and Competition Law 198 II. Competition Law and Non-competition Interests 203 III. Concluding Remarks 208 Conclusion 209 Bibliography 213 Index 233