Brussels, 06/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - Settlements that are potentially problematic in terms of anti-trust rules and abuse of dominant position - especially those aimed at delaying or restricting the entry of generic medicines to the market against payment from the originator to the generic company - continue to decrease in importance and number, the European Commission was pleased to state on Wednesday 6 July, in the light of the results of the second series of monitoring exercises on patent settlements in the pharmaceutical sector. During the period covered by the sectoral investigation (2000-2009), settlements accounted for 45 out of 207, or 22% of the settlements reported. During the first monitoring period, the figure dropped to 10% or 9 out of 93 of the settlements. In 2010, only 3% or 3 out of 89 of the settlements fell into the category that might attract scrutiny. According to the Commission, which will carry out a further monitoring exercise in 2012, this shows that generics have easier market access. (F.G./transl.jl)