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Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. v. Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

289 F. Supp. 2d 986 (2003)

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Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. v. Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
289 F. Supp. 2d 986 (2003)

Facts

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (Glaxo) (defendant) held a patent in a crystal form of paroxetine, which it sold as an antidepressant under the name Paxil. Glaxo brought an infringement suit against Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Pentech) (defendant), which sold an amorphous (i.e., noncrystal) version of the same drug outside the United States market. Pentech obtained its supply of amorphous paroxetine hydrochloride, the active ingredient in its version of the drug, from Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. (Asahi) (plaintiff). Asahi was joined as a defendant in Glaxo’s suit. The parties agreed to settle, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a motion to dismiss the case in its entirety. As part of the settlement, Glaxo agreed to supply Pentech with Paxil, which Pentech was permitted to sell in unbranded form in Puerto Rico and, under certain conditions, in the United States market, in exchange for royalty payments. This left Pentech with no further need for Asahi as a supplier. Asahi commenced a new action against Glaxo and Pentech, arguing that the earlier infringement suit had been part of a scheme to divide the market for Paxil between Glaxo and Pentech in violation of antitrust law. Glaxo and Pentech moved to dismiss the complaint.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Posner, J.)

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Casebooks

Antitrust

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