Jesse Helms sponsored legislation letting the New York native serve despite being over the position's 64-year-old age limit.

WSJ: Former Surgeon General Koop Dies

Because generic companies tend to challenge patents of every successful drug, the FTC's position would impose onerous legal costs on brand-name drugmakers and limit their ability to fund expensive research to create new drugs, said the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents brand-name drugmakers.

NPR: Court: Can Drug Companies Pay To Delay Generics?