District of Columbia

Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider 

With offices in Hartford, New York, and Washington, DC, Axinn has established itself as a formidable force in high-stakes litigation, particularly in the areas of patent disputes, antitrust, and complex commercial matters.  

In Hartford, Matthew Becker has been at the forefront of one of the most closely watched pharmaceutical patent disputes in recent years. Representing Norwich Pharmaceuticals in its challenge against Salix Pharmaceuticals over the blockbuster drug Xifaxan, Becker navigated a case involving 26 patents and more than 460 claims. His team secured a mixed but strategic ruling, with the Federal Circuit ultimately affirming key victories in April 2024 and subsequent appeals denied. Fellow Hartford partner Ted Mathias has also steered Norwich through a decade-long dispute with global pharmaceutical leaders over baloxavir marboxil, an antiviral treatment for influenza. The outcome of this litigation carries broad implications for the flu-treatment market. In Washington, DC, Aziz Burgy secured a decisive win for Cosette Pharmaceuticals in litigation over Firvanq, a treatment for serious bacterial infections. His team achieved a favorable consent judgment covering six patents in Delaware and negotiated a settlement in New Jersey litigation. Meanwhile in New York, Denise Plunkett, head of Axinn’s litigation group, leads the firm’s antitrust practice. She is guiding Tyson Foods through billion-dollar class actions alleging price-fixing in the poultry and pork industries, co-defended major real estate entities in commission-fixing litigation and continues to defend Google in multidistrict AdTech litigation with Sherman Act and state law claims brought by leading publishers.