After years of litigation related to the HIV drug Norvir, GlaxoSmithKline has abandoned an antitrust claim that was once at the heart of its licensing battle with Abbott Laboratories. Now Abbott’s lawyers are looking to put the rest of what was once a $1.7 billion lawsuit to bed before a scheduled May trial.
Abbott’s lawyers, led by James Hurst of Kirkland & Ellis, urged a federal judge in Oakland, California, on Wednesday to throw out the remains of GSK’s suit, which accuses Abbott of breaching a license agreement and violating North Carolina’s unfair trade practices law. Citing GSK’s recent decision to abandon related federal antitrust allegations in the case, Abbott’s legal team says that the California court no longer has jurisdiction.
