Deals & Corporate Governance

  • April 17, 2024

    Walgreens Investors' $36M Deal In Opioid Suit Gets First OK

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted his initial approval of a $36 million settlement to end a stockholder's derivative suit accusing Walgreens and its leadership of failing to limit retail pharmacies from dispensing unreasonable amounts of opioids.

  • April 17, 2024

    Elliott Waives BioMarin Board Deal, Moots Del. Suit

    Elliott Investment Management LP has waived an agreement with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. that gave the activist investor three new seats on the biopharmaceutical company's board, mooting a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit that a BioMarin shareholder filed earlier this month.

  • April 16, 2024

    Eli Lilly's Insulin Price Cap Deal Collapses After Cert. Denial

    Eli Lilly & Co. and insulin buyers have called off a proposed nationwide settlement that would've capped insulin prices and been worth up to $500 million over several years, a decision that was made after the buyers lost a class certification bid early this year, according to the buyers' counsel.

  • April 16, 2024

    NC Treasurer Backs FTC On Hospital Merger Challenge

    North Carolina's treasurer agreed Monday that Novant Health's $320 million plan to pick up a pair of hospitals is a bad idea, throwing its weight behind the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the deal in federal court.

  • April 16, 2024

    Bankrupt Breast Implant Co. Submits Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures

    Bankrupt breast implant company Sientra Inc. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to approve the disclosure statement for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which provides for a wind-down of what is left of the company after $50.5 million worth of asset sales.

  • April 16, 2024

    Biotechs Turn To Licensing, Collaboration Deals For Capital

    Biotech companies are turning to licensing and collaboration deals amid a tough public market and larger economic slowdown.

  • April 16, 2024

    Healthcare Merger Deals Carefully Tread New Antitrust Terrain

    Healthcare companies are changing the way they negotiate and draft merger and acquisition contracts amid heightened anxiety around antitrust scrutiny.

  • April 16, 2024

    Struggling Hospitals Seek Mergers As Regulators Push Back

    Healthcare attorneys are seeing a slow but steady resurgence in mergers and acquisitions activity across health systems, as distressed hospitals look to combine to offset the financial pressures they've faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • April 15, 2024

    Goodwin, Baker Donelson Guide MPT In $1.1B Hospital Sale

    Medical Properties Trust Inc. has sold its majority stake in five Utah hospitals to a joint venture with an unnamed investment fund, in a $1.1 billion transaction advised by Goodwin Procter LLP and Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC that comes days after the real estate investment trust sold another group of hospitals for $350 million.

  • April 15, 2024

    Humanigen Files Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures

    Bankrupt biopharma company Humanigen Inc. has filed a proposed Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement in Delaware court that calls for the payment in full of secured and priority claims, while general unsecured creditors owed a collective $44 million will receive up to 19% recoveries.

  • April 15, 2024

    Hold This COVID Vax Patent Case, Judge Recommends

    One of the suits over Pfizer's blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine hit a snag in Virginia federal court Friday when a judge recommended pausing the case to wait for a ruling in a related dispute over patent ownership involving one of BioNTech's other partners.

  • April 11, 2024

    Del. Justices OK Denial Of Icahn-Illumina Midcase Appeal Bid

    Billionaire investor Carl Icahn may not put his Chancery Court litigation against biotechnology company Illumina Inc.'s board on hold for a review of a decision that struck portions of the complaint that were based on confidential information, Delaware's Supreme Court said Thursday, upholding the lower court's rejection of the midcase appeal.

  • April 11, 2024

    Kirkland, Jones Day Build $787.5M Sale Of Steris' Dental Unit

    Medical device company Steris, advised by Jones Day, on Thursday announced plans to sell its dental segment to Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised middle market private equity shop Peak Rock Capital for $787.5 million.

  • April 10, 2024

    Bankrupt Breast Implant Co. Gets OK For $50.5M Asset Sales

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said at a hearing Wednesday she would approve two sales of Sientra Inc.'s assets for a combined $50.5 million after the breast implant maker included several reservations of the rights of various businesses holding contracts with the debtor.

  • April 10, 2024

    3rd Circ. Skeptical Of Challenge To NLRB Bonuses Ruling

    A Third Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of a nursing home's challenge to a National Labor Relations Board decision finding it unlawfully altered bonus pay it issued during the pandemic without bargaining, as judges questioned the company's argument that the bonuses were allowable under an expired contract.

  • April 10, 2024

    Bankrupt Hospital Co.'s $16M Deal With Ex-Execs OK'd

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed Wednesday to let the liquidating trustee for hospital operator Promise Healthcare proceed with a $16 million settlement with former executives to resolve his Florida federal court lawsuit, which alleged they abused the company's trust by lying to board members for their own benefit.

  • April 09, 2024

    Investor Can't Get Approval Of Hong Kong Award In Calif.

    A California judge has thrown out a petition filed by a biotechnology company investor seeking to enforce a Hong Kong arbitral award that found she is the proper owner of the company's shares, saying the case has an insufficient connection to the Golden State.

  • April 09, 2024

    Calif. Healthcare Attys Working Late Thanks To New Regs

    Attorneys working on healthcare deals in California are logging longer hours and getting less sleep as they grapple with new regulations that came into effect this month.

  • April 09, 2024

    Tech M&A Reigns Supreme In Q1 After Rare Hiccup In Q4

    The technology sector logged the greatest total value of global mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2024, following a rare quarter that saw the industry fall out of the top spot and into third place, data from Dealogic shows.

  • April 09, 2024

    Healthcare Deals This Week: Merck, J&J And More

    From private megarounds to a blockbuster medtech buy, there's been a flurry of deals in the healthcare industry this past week. Among the notable transactions were a $13.1 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and billion-dollar deals involving Genmab and Merck. Law360 breaks down those and other big healthcare and life science deals from the past week.

  • April 09, 2024

    Life Sciences GCs On Tighter Regs, Outside Counsel Advice

    General counsel at life sciences venture capital firms are navigating increased regulation in healthcare and looking to outside counsel to act as true advisers and problem-solvers as the healthcare industry becomes more complex.

  • April 08, 2024

    Judge Urged To Reject UnitedHealth's Antitrust Deal Qualms

    Patients who cut a $55 million antitrust settlement with NorthShore University HealthSystem are urging an Illinois federal court to reject objections by United Healthcare Services, arguing that the insurer has no standing to derail the deal and that its challenge to the agreement could dilute their recovery.

  • April 08, 2024

    PE Firm Calls FTC's Antitrust Claims 'Many Yesterdays' Old

    A Texas anesthesiology company and the private equity firm that created it told a Houston federal judge Monday that the Federal Trade Commission has gone back "many yesterdays ago" in making its antitrust case, arguing that there's no imminent threat of a monopoly in an attempt to get the case dismissed.

  • April 08, 2024

    CVS Signing Bonus, Stock Pushed GC's Pay To Nearly $12M

    CVS Health Corp. paid its general counsel nearly $12 million last year with a compensation package that included a cash bonus and equity awards to cover money he had to forfeit from his previous employer when he joined the executive leadership team in February 2023, according to public documents.

  • April 05, 2024

    New Chancery Challenge Launched To Board-Investor Pacts

    A biopharmaceutical company stockholder has teed up a new Delaware Chancery Court suit challenging board-investor voting agreements, with the complaint acknowledging wide debate over the pacts and a fast-moving push to amend state corporation law to authorize them.

Expert Analysis

  • A Primer On New Calif. Health Transaction Reporting Rules

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    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.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

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    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.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    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.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    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.

  • What Insurers Gain When Litigating Coverage Denials

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    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.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    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.

  • AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

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    As the use of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, Expert Analysis writers examined AI's significant impact on the healthcare sector, ranging from key compliance considerations for companies utilizing AI tools to regulators' efforts to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • How SEC And NY Cyber Reporting Rules Affect Key Industries

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    The new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Department of Financial Services cybersecurity disclosure requirements, and their competing obligations, reveal the increasing complexity for organizations evaluating and reacting to cybersecurity incidents — particularly those in the healthcare and financial services industries, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Trends Shaping The 2024 Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

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    The better-for-you segment within the consumer packaged goods industry is poised for a significant evolution in 2024, and industry players must remain agile and adaptive through M&A activities, legal considerations, sustainability initiatives and changing technology, says Christopher Cain at Foley & Lardner.

  • Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

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    Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

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    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

  • How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

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    Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.