On September 28, 2015, the National Law Journal published Trailblazers: Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust profiling several attorneys who have moved the needle in mergers & acquisitions and antitrust law. Among those profiled this year was Venable partner Doug Baldridge.
Discussing the landmark victory on behalf of Ranbaxy Inc. in a reverse payment antitrust case where a jury ruled unanimously in favor of his client, Baldridge said, "In the Nexium case, we showed that it was patent laws, not some anti-competitive motivation, that delayed the generic's entry to the market." He was clear that this was a team victory, with Lisa Jose Fales and Danielle Foley (among others) working with him shoulder to shoulder.
Baldridge said he expects to see important decisions related to pharmaceutical patents in the near future. "Some of the courts would not look at a patent infringement case unless there's a cash payment. But the Third Circuit has said that there needn’t be a cash payment and that the courts should define what is considered the kind of 'large or undefined' payments that are involved in reverse payment matters." He also pointed to amateur sports as another area to watch, saying, "We will see more cases like the EA Sports likeness rights case. As monetization of sports is getting enormous, both sides are trying to figure it out."