A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the December 2014 jury verdict in favor of Venable's client, Ranbaxy, and AstraZeneca on claims that the two companies entered into a so-called reverse payment settlement in violation of antitrust laws when they settled their patent litigation over AstraZeneca's Nexium product. After a six-week trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the defense. The case was the first reverse payment suit to go to trial since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that the Hatch-Waxman Act settlements could be challenged under federal antitrust law. The decision is the latest victory on behalf of Ranbaxy after a federal judge denied plaintiff's request for a new trial earlier this year.
Multiple publications featured news of the decision, including the New York Times, Reuters, FiercePharma, and Law360.
Venable partners Doug Baldridge, Lisa Jose Fales, and Danielle Foley led the trial team representing Ranbaxy.