US jury rejects Glaxo antitrust claims vs Abbott

A US jury rejected GlaxoSmithKline's antitrust claims against Abbott Laboratories over allegations of unfair HIV drug pricing, after Britain's biggest drugmaker had asked for hundreds of millions in damages. Glaxo accused Abbott of improperly hiking the price of one drug, Norvir, to help it preserve sales growth of one of its other HIV blockbusters, Kaletra.

The case had been in trial in an Oakland, California federal court, and the jury delivered its verdict on Wednesday. The jury awarded Glaxo $3.4 million on its breach of contract claims. Abbott spokeswoman Adelle Infante said the company is "disappointed" with that finding and is considering an appeal. "However, the jury's awarding of $3.4m dollars in damages, instead of the $571m that GSK was asking for, confirms our view that GSK's alleged damages were inaccurate and inflated," Infante said in an email. A Glaxo representative did not immediately comment on the verdict.