Citations
- 757 F. Supp. 2d 1
Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION
COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.
Petitioner, the Federal Trade Commission, has filed this action for the purpose of obtaining an order compelling Respondent Paul Bisaro to comply in full with a subpoena ad testificandum issued to him on July 22, 2009 in aid of a law enforcement investigation being conducted by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). This Court referred the matter to Magistrate Judge Alan Kay, who issued a Report & Recommendation recommending that the FTC’s petition be granted. See Report & Recommendation (“R & R”) (Aug. 17, 2010), 2010 WL 4910268, Docket No. [35]. Respondent timely objected to Magistrate Judge Kay’s Report & Recommendation, and the parties have fully briefed Respondent’s objections. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 72.3(c), this Court makes a de novo determination regarding Respondent’s objections. For the reasons explained below, the Court shall overrule Respondent’s objections to the Report & Recommendation and GRANT the FTC’s [3] Petition for an Order Enforcing Administrative Subpoena Ad Testificandum.
I. BACKGROUND
Respondent Paul Bisaro is the President and CEO of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Watson”), a company engaged in the development and distribution of generic pharmaceuticals. This dispute arises from the FTC’s attempts to investigate and stop so-called “reverse payment” settlements between brand-name pharmaceutical companies and their generic counterparts. “Reverse payment” settlements are the result of patent infringement litigation between brand-name pharmaceuticals and generic companies who seek to enter the market with a generic versions of brand-name drugs prior to the expiration of their patent terms pursuant to the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, also known as the “HatchWaxman Act,” Pub. L. No. 98-417, 98 Stat. 1585 (1984).
The Hatch-Waxman Act enables generic drugmakers to obtain expedited approval for generic drugs and challenge the validity of brand-name drug patents by submitting an Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”) with the Food & Drug Administration. See 21 U.S.C. § 355(j). As part of the ANDA, the applicant must submit a so-called “Paragraph IV” certification attesting that brand-name patent on which the generic drug is based is either invalid or will not be infringed by the generic drug. See id. § 35B