Finnegan client Elan protected against antitrust claims based on ANDA settlement

Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Andrx”) filed suit against Finnegan client Elan Corporation PLC, alleging that Elan violated the federal antitrust Sherman Act and various Florida antitrust statutes by entering into a settlement agreement in an Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”) patent infringement litigation that Elan brought against another company, and by initiating an ANDA litigation against Andrx relating to the same patent. Finnegan obtained judgment on the pleadings in Elan’s favor on all issues at the outset of the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the majority of the holdings, including that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine shielded Elan from Andrx’s patent misuse claims relating to Elan’s assertion of its patent against Andrx. The Eleventh Circuit remanded the settlement agreement holding for further proceedings. Andrx ultimately agreed to dismiss the claim.