Deals & Corporate Governance
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June 04, 2024
Ontrak CEO Shed $20M In Stock With Insider Info, Jury Hears
Ontrak Inc.'s founder rushed to dump over $20 million of the healthcare company's stock using insider information about a souring relationship with its biggest client, Cigna, helping him avoid $12 million in losses, prosecutors told California federal jurors Tuesday in a first-of-its-kind securities fraud trial.
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June 04, 2024
Chinese Fund Asks To Nix Doc Bid In $830M Transaction Row
A Chinese healthcare investment fund has asked a New York federal court to toss a Hong Kong medical fund's subpoena request seeking information in a foreign case stemming from a stymied $830 million transaction, saying the discovery bid isn't allowed for the private arbitration.
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July 02, 2024
The State Of The Retail Industry's Healthcare Investments
Amazon and Walgreens separately announced changes to their healthcare offerings, revealing the growing divide between retail companies as they grapple with a complicated business. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at major retailers' recent healthcare ventures and where they stand now.
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June 03, 2024
Judge Says It's Time For DIP Deal For Steward Healthcare
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday gave Steward Health Care permission to offer a commitment fee to induce a lender to provide it with the financing to see the hospital chain through its Chapter 11 case, while saying the company needs that final commitment soon.
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June 03, 2024
Taxes Take Center Stage In Pot Industry Amid Fed. Policy Shift
The federal government's move to loosen restrictions on cannabis is expected to trigger a wave of mergers and acquisitions structured as asset deals in the industry, especially among struggling retail operations willing to restructure in order to raise profits and lower their tax liabilities.
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June 03, 2024
Ropes & Gray Guides Becton On $4.2B Edwards Unit Buy
Ropes & Gray LLP is guiding Becton Dickinson and Co. on a deal that will see the medical technology company pay $4.2 billion for Edwards Lifesciences' critical care product group, which focuses on patient monitoring using artificial intelligence, the companies said Monday.
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May 31, 2024
Caremark Cut Loose From CVS Price-Gouging Case
A Rhode Island federal judge on Thursday dismissed Caremark from long-running litigation alleging CVS schemed with pharmacy benefit managers to overcharge insured health plans for generic drugs, finding Caremark's contracts with the funds have enforceable arbitration clauses.
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May 31, 2024
Healthcare REIT Closes $120M Loan For 8-Property Portfolio
Diversified Healthcare Trust has finalized a deal for a 10-year, interest-only $120 million mortgage loan that's secured by eight of its properties located in seven states, the healthcare-focused real estate investment trust announced.
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May 31, 2024
Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Health, Spacecraft And Bombs
The U.S. Defense Health Agency unveiled contracts worth tens of billions of dollars in May, including a scrutinized $43 billion medical staffing vehicle, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration added $6 billion to a spacecraft deal. Here, Law360 looks at some of the most noteworthy government contracts over the last month.
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May 30, 2024
Rite Aid Ch. 11 Timeline Extended To Allow More Plan Review
A New Jersey judge on Thursday lengthened the timeline for Rite Aid to seek an exit from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pushing the confirmation hearing date out by seven days after insurers and others said the company's schedule would not provide enough time to review its restructuring plan.
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May 30, 2024
Cue Health Spiraled Into Ch. 7 After FDA Nixed COVID Tests
Medical-test maker Cue Health's promise of "lab-quality" COVID-19 tests fell apart after federal regulators rang the alarm that its tests were less reliable than advertised, leading the company to file for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware bankruptcy court.
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May 30, 2024
FTC, Novant Ask To Delay In-House Trial On Merger Challenge
The Federal Trade Commission and Novant Health have asked to postpone an upcoming administrative hearing over the nonprofit's proposed purchase of two North Carolina hospitals, a purchase that regulators are concerned will dampen competition in the region, according to a notice filed in federal court.
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May 29, 2024
Fla. Medicare Companies Get Class Cert. In Suit Against USAA
A Florida state court judge granted certification to a class of Medicare-contracted businesses suing USAA Casualty Insurance Co. over allegations the insurer withheld policy information and intentionally passed its obligation to pay automobile injury claims downstream to other companies, according to attorneys representing the group of businesses.
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May 28, 2024
J&J To Pay $1.25B For Global Rights To Eczema Treatment
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to buy the rights to an experimental treatment for eczema from Baker McKenzie-advised Numab Therapeutics for approximately $1.25 billion, the companies announced on Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
Medical Test Maker To Liquidate After FDA Slams COVID Kits
Medical test maker Cue Health filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware bankruptcy court Tuesday with more than $50 million in debt, two weeks after federal regulators warned customers to throw out its COVID-19 tests due to a higher risk of false results.
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May 28, 2024
DC Circ. Decision May Lead To Tighter 340B Pharma Contracts
A D.C. Circuit decision last week holding that the federal 340B drug pricing program doesn't bar drugmakers from imposing contractual conditions on contract pharmacies could embolden them to impose tougher restrictions as they try to ease the program's financial burden.
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May 24, 2024
Healthcare REIT Nabs $800M Despite Tenant Turbulence
Medical Properties Trust Inc. announced Friday that the real estate investment trust has secured a £631 million ($804 million) financing from a group of investors led by real estate investment firm Song Capital, in a deal led by Goodwin Procter LLP and Slaughter and May.
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May 22, 2024
Doc Gets 3 Mos. For Alexion Trades Despite 'Meaningful Job'
A doctor was sentenced to three months in prison Wednesday for insider trading on an Alexion Pharmaceuticals acquisition, with a Manhattan federal judge saying the defendant's treatment of critically ill, underserved kidney disease patients does not amount to a "get out of jail free card."
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May 22, 2024
Teva, Bristol-Myers Cite Bystolic Against Cancer Drug Case
Celgene and parent Bristol-Myers Squibb pointed a New Jersey federal judge to the dismissal, recently upheld by the Second Circuit, of an antitrust suit over delayed generic competition to AbbVie's hypertension treatment Bystolic to argue the same logic applies to their bid to duck antitrust claims over cancer therapies.
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May 22, 2024
Covington Reps As Biogen Makes $1.8B Bet On HI-Bio
Biogen Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase Human Immunology Biosciences, or HI-Bio, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company working on targeted therapies for severe autoimmune diseases, in a deal that could see Biogen pay up to $1.8 billion.
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May 21, 2024
2nd Circ. Partially Backs Win For Nurses' Union Pension Plan
In a 90-page opinion, the Second Circuit on Tuesday mostly upheld a Manhattan federal judge's decision affirming an arbiter's award favoring a nurses' pension plan, agreeing that White Oak Global Advisors LLC must return "Day 1" fees totaling nearly $2 million and pay prejudgment interest said to top $22 million.
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May 21, 2024
Sens. Challenge Pharma Lobbyist Over Patent Abuse
U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle took turns at a Tuesday hearing questioning the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbyist over whether patent abuse plays a role in maintaining the high price of prescription drugs.
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May 21, 2024
Wyden Expands Pharma Tax Investigation With Pfizer Inquiry
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Pfizer to provide details on its tax practices to explain how the drug company has consistently paid tax rates that are significantly lower than the corporate tax rate in a letter released by the committee Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Louisiana Joins States Reining In Doc Noncompetes
A long-debated Louisiana bill designed to make it easier for doctors to move jobs while alleviating physician shortages is being welcomed by some of the big healthcare players in the state.
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May 21, 2024
SPAC Investor's Suit Changes Came Too Late, Chancery Rules
A shareholder of a special-purpose acquisition company that merged with a now-defunct medical technology company in 2021 waited too long to amend his year-old proposed class action and must defend the case against a motion to dismiss in June, Delaware's Court of Chancery said Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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New CMS Rule Will Change Nursing Facility Disclosures
A new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services significantly expands disclosure requirements for nursing facilities backed by private equity companies or real estate investment trusts, likely foreshadowing increased oversight that could include more targeted audits, say Janice Davis and Christopher Ronne at Morgan Lewis.
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Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges
Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.
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How Biotech Cos. Can Utilize Synthetic Royalty Financing
Synthetic royalty transactions have been on the rise as a funding structure for biotechnology companies, but questions have arisen surrounding how such transactions work, and structuring them correctly requires a nuanced understanding, say Todd Trattner and Ryan Murr at Gibson Dunn.
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How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View
The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.
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Notes Of Interest From 5th Circ. Illumina-Grail Merger Ruling
Attorneys at Simpson Thacher consider the Fifth Circuit's recent decision upholding the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of the Illumina merger with Grail, its much-needed boost to the Biden administration's antitrust agenda, and some silver linings the decision offers to merging parties.
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A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures
In the current environment of heightened antitrust enforcement, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act seems tailor-made for the collaborative work among competitors encouraged by the Biden administration's infrastructure and green energy funding legislation, say Jeetander Dulani and Susan Ebner at Stinson.
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Financing Healthcare Deals In Uncertain Markets This Year
As challenges to closing and financing new deals prevail into 2024, lenders in new healthcare transactions are talking about alternative approaches for sponsors to consider, such as private credit alternatives and utilization of junior capital, say attorneys at McDermott.
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A Primer On New Calif. Health Transaction Reporting Rules
New California regulations regarding the reporting of certain transactions involving healthcare entities, which took effect on Jan. 1, address some industry feedback about overly broad requirements but still leave several areas of concern, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year
In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News
Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
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What Insurers Gain When Litigating Coverage Denials
Lately, insurance companies have denied coverage for lawsuits alleging liability relating to the ordinary operations of highly regulated businesses, such as those in the pharmaceutical and energy sectors — demonstrating time and again how litigation can be a vehicle for carriers to mitigate their own costs, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends
Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.