The Emergence of ‘Pay for Delay’ Agreements in East Asia

Adachi Kiyoshi ()
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Adachi Kiyoshi: National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Asian Journal of Law and Economics, 2025, vol. 16, issue 3, 307-323

Abstract: This paper examines the approaches taken by courts, competition and health authorities in China, Japan and Korea when dealing with ‘pay for delay’ cases in the pharmaceutical sector. Most disputes involving ‘pay for delay’ agreements have to date occurred in the United States and Europe, and have involved challenges to the underlying agreement under applicable competition legislation. The principal concern in such cases is the potential anti-competitive effect of a ‘pay for delay’ agreement in the event that market exclusivity is maintained to the detriment of earlier entry of generics. A number of East Asian countries with advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity such as China and the Republic of Korea have, however, begun to see cases involving ‘pay for delay’ agreements. Japanese competition authorities also appear to be aware of the potential for such cases in the country. This paper examines the approaches used by the respective authorities of these countries in assessing these agreements.

Keywords: pay for delay; reverse payments; competition law; patents; pharmaceuticals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1515/ajle-2025-0006

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