Overview
On October 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated a $61 million breach-of-contract judgment against Williams & Connolly client United Therapeutics Corporation (“UTC”) and affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ federal antitrust claims and their North Carolina unfair and deceptive trade practices claim.
After a manufacturer of injection cartridges necessary for subcutaneous administration of its groundbreaking drug, Remodulin®, announced plans to discontinue making the cartridges, UTC entered agreements to extend their production and ensure continued supply for Remodulin patients. In 2019, generic drug maker Sandoz, Inc. and its marketing partner RareGen, LLC, filed a lawsuit claiming that UTC’s agreements violated the Sherman Act and state antitrust laws, seeking potentially several hundred million dollars in damages, as well as trebling, fees, and other remedies. Plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint to allege that UTC breached a 2015 patent settlement agreement by interfering with Sandoz’s launch of its generic version of Remodulin. Unlike UTC, Sandoz had not paid for or developed cartridges for potential users of its drug. Sandoz and RareGen sought an injunction that would have forced UTC to share its cartridges, which the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied. At summary judgment, the court dismissed the antitrust and related claims, accepted Sandoz’s interpretation of the patent settlement agreement, and set the case for trial on contract damages only. After a bench trial, the court awarded Sandoz a fraction of the damages it initially sought. Last week, the Third Circuit vacated that judgment, holding that the 2015 settlement agreement does not unambiguously support Sandoz’s reading, pointing to the agreement’s exclusion of devices and pumps and its patent-settlement context. It also upheld dismissal of the antitrust claims, holding that UTC’s protection of its fragile patients, increased output, and the avoidance of free riding, were valid procompetitive justifications for its conduct.
Luke McCloud argued the appeal before the Third Circuit in November 2025. Partners Ted Bennett, Jonathan Pitt, Adrienne Van Winkle, and Sean Douglass, as well as associates Atticus DeProspo, Kristen DeWilde, Noah McCullough, and Nicole Fleming, tried the case and were members of the appellate team.