The FTC has launched a probe into Teva Pharmaceuticals over contested drug patents the company refuses to remove from a federal registry, The Washington Post reported July 1.
Last week, the FTC ordered Teva to turn over internal communications and financial data related to nearly two dozen patents for its asthma and COPD inhalers listed in the FDA's Orange Book, according to documents obtained by the Post.
The FTC claims that Teva and other drugmakers are improperly making small tweaks to their products to keep patents for brand name drugs in the Orange Book, blocking generic competition.
"Teva believes that its patents are properly listed in the Orange Book and continues to stand behind the company's intellectual property," a spokesperson for the company told the Post. The FTC denied the publication's request for comment.
Teva has until July 24 to cooperate with the FTC's information request.