Crossing The Blurred Line Between Brands And Generics

Clients often ask if a law firm can represent both brand and generic drug manufacturers. It's a reasonable question, particularly when the popular perception is that potential conflicts pigeonhole law firms, forcing them to "pick a side" and represent either brands or generics. But the reality is that firms can and do represent both "sides" of the brand-generic divide, especially given the recent consolidations among companies.

Increased consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry has produced an ecosystem in which many companies manufacture both brand and generic drugs. Because some brand manufacturers have their own generic subsidiaries and others are permitted to sell generic versions of their own brand drugs, the brand-generic divide is more blurry than popular perception might suggest. As the industry continues more than a decade of sustained consolidation, it may be time to retire the "pick a side" paradigm in pharmaceutical patent litigation.