SPOTLIGHT: Drug makers delaying generics


With lawmakers poised to consider new legislation on generic drugs, the FTC has concluded that the drug industry is increasingly paying generic drugmakers to stop them from rolling out cheap knockoffs. Half of the 28 patent litigation settlements struck in the year leading up to Sept. 30 included such a pact. The Senate Judiciary Committee has begun an investigation into the payments, which two appeals court decisions concluded were legal in 2005. Report