[refurb]

I never understood why pay for delay deals are bad.

It’s basically splitting the difference between two possible scenarios:

Scenario 1: patent is valid, generic drug doesn’t launch for 2 years

Scenario 2: patent is invalid and generic drug can launch immediately

The only reason you see pay for delay deals is when neither scenario is certain. Otherwise, why do a deal?

So they could only be called a “delay” if the patent is invalid. But if the patent was 100% invalid, the generic company wouldn’t negotiate a deal.

Most of the time, pay for “delay” deals get the generic drug on market sooner.