Life Sciences

  • February 19, 2025

    LA Gardasil Trial Against Merck Bagged After 3 Weeks

    A Los Angeles state court trial over the alleged dangers of Merck & Co. Inc.'s human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil was abruptly called off after three weeks of testimony, with a new panel of jurors slated to hear the case next fall instead.

  • February 19, 2025

    BP Must Face Contract Claim In Bayer's $12M Benzene Suit

    BP can't escape claims that it breached its contract with a chemical supplier currently defending a $12 million lawsuit from Bayer over alleged benzene contamination in two antifungal sprays, an Illinois federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

  • February 19, 2025

    Wu-Tang Album Owner Wants Shkreli To Pay Fees

    The crypto project that holds the only physical copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album that once belonged to Martin Shkreli has asked a Brooklyn federal court to make him pay for months of noncompliance with a preliminary injunction requiring him to account for all copies of the album he may have made.

  • February 19, 2025

    Simpson Thacher Adds Litigator, Private Funds Pro In Boston

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has added a litigation attorney from Cooley LLP and a private funds attorney from Ropes & Gray LLP who will both work in Boston, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    1st Circ. Backs Strict View Of Kickback Law In Blow To FCA

    In an eagerly awaited ruling, the First Circuit on Tuesday said a major avenue for False Claims Act enforcement requires proof that kickbacks directly changed treatment decisions, a holding that creates a lopsided circuit split as well as significant challenges for the U.S. Department of Justice and the plaintiffs bar.

  • February 18, 2025

    Hikma Appeals To Justices In 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

    Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that revived a patent suit over its generic version of Amarin Pharma Inc.'s cardiovascular drug Vascepa, saying the holding "effectively nullifies" a law allowing "skinny labels."

  • February 18, 2025

    Studies Don't Show Zantac Cancer Risks, Jury Hears

    Taking Zantac does not cause prostate cancer, a Children's Hospital Colorado toxicologist testified Tuesday in two men's Illinois retrial of claims that taking the heartburn medication contributed to their diagnoses.

  • February 18, 2025

    J&J Talc Unit Launches 2-Week $10B Ch. 11 Settlement Trial

    A Johnson & Johnson spinoff began its case Tuesday for a $10 billion Chapter 11 settlement of the company's talc liability before a Texas bankruptcy judge while opponents of the deal questioned the legitimacy of the bankruptcy case and the plan vote.

  • February 18, 2025

    Novo Nordisk Queues Up $830M Suit Over Disappointing Drug

    Novo Nordisk is set to initiate an $830 million arbitration claim in New York accusing Singaporean biopharmaceutical company KBP Biosciences of misleading the Danish drugmaker about the potential of a new hypertension drug it subsequently purchased, according to an order from a Singapore court made public on Tuesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    Convicted Pharma Exec Seeks Trial Redo, Citing Feds' Error

    A former pharmacy executive convicted on criminal charges over a healthcare scheme that defrauded the government of $160 million has urged a Texas federal court to grant him a new trial, arguing an admission of error by the federal government necessitates a redo.

  • February 18, 2025

    Human Rights Atty Sees 'Serious Risks' Of Neural Data Abuse

    International human rights attorney Jared Genser spoke with Law360 Healthcare Authority about the "serious risks of misuse and abuse of neurotechnologies" that have led California and Colorado to expand their state consumer privacy laws in the last year to include neural data, with similar bills pending in Montana, Massachusetts and Illinois.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Issues Order Calling For Expanded IVF Access

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday giving his administration 90 days to develop policy recommendations designed to protect access to in vitro fertilization and sharply reduce out-of-pocket costs for IVF treatment.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Trans Order Is Unconstitutional 'End-Run,' Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge has further explained her temporary block on President Donald Trump's executive order targeting funding for gender-affirming care for young people, saying the edict threatens a broad swath of congressionally approved research spending and "amounts to an end-run around the separation of powers."

  • February 18, 2025

    Vaccine Developer Files Ch. 11 Sale Plan With $11.5M Bid

    Omega Therapeutics, which develops mRNA vaccines, filed proposed bidding procedures in Delaware bankruptcy court, saying it hopes to get a sale approved by mid-April and has a stalking-horse bid in hand worth about $11.5 million.

  • February 18, 2025

    Ex-Goldman Atty Squires Expected To Be Named USPTO Head

    John A. Squires — Goldman Sachs' longtime chief intellectual property counsel, co-founder of Fortress' IP Investment fund and current Dilworth Paxson LLP partner — is expected to be chosen as the Trump administration's nominee for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director, about a half-dozen sources with knowledge of the agency said Tuesday.

  • February 14, 2025

    FTC's Ferguson, PBMs Agree: Nix Leader Removal Safeguards

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson offered his own support for enabling the president to readily fire independent agency commissioners at the FTC and beyond, a day after pharmacy benefit managers cited the new U.S. Department of Justice policy in their own battle with the FTC.

  • February 14, 2025

    Digital Health Co. Beats Some Claims In SPAC Investor Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed, with leave to amend, claims in an investor suit against a blank check company that took digital health equipment venture Butterfly Network Inc. public, finding that some of the shares the plaintiffs purchased are not traceable to the registration statement at issue in the suit.

  • February 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Risks Relying On 'Science Fiction,' Justices Told

    The Federal Circuit's presumption that prior art is always enabled can lead it to "sacrifice true innovations based on earlier science fiction," the owner of invalidated food wrapping patents told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Admin To Cut Thousands Of Federal Health Employees

    The Trump administration has started to cut thousands of federal healthcare employees, following through on its promises to shrink government and enact mass changes to agencies that oversee the health of millions of Americans.

  • February 14, 2025

    New Delisting Rules Shorten Leash For Distressed Companies

    Distressed companies should take heed of new stock exchange rules that are likely to accelerate delistings for stocks that trade below minimum requirements, particularly targeting businesses that rely on reverse stock splits to inflate their share prices, attorneys say.

  • February 14, 2025

    CVS Wins Arbitration In Medicare Fee Antitrust Suit

    An Arizona federal judge ordered four independent pharmacies to arbitrate their claims accusing CVS of exploiting a Medicare loophole to charge them exorbitant fees, saying several unconscionable provisions in an underlying arbitration clause could be severed.

  • February 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Rejects COVID Test Suit In Gilstrap-Authored Ruling

    A California federal judge properly found that Spectrum Solutions LLC didn't infringe a COVID-19 test maker's patent directed to preserving biological samples, the Federal Circuit said Friday in an opinion written by a top patent judge visiting the court.

  • February 14, 2025

    Some Discovery On Hold In Abbott Infant Formula Case

    An Illinois federal judge granted in part a request by Abbott Laboratories to pause a shareholder derivative suit over how it managed the 2022 infant formula crisis, allowing written discovery to go on while staying depositions until May.

  • February 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Even Small Cos. Can Win At ITC

    A small biotech company's recent patent win, where the Federal Circuit held that even its limited domestic investments qualified it to sue at the U.S. International Trade Commission, makes clear that the ITC's powerful import bans aren't just available to major businesses, attorneys say.

  • February 14, 2025

    8 Things Attys Should Know About Conn.'s $55B Budget

    Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont's two-year budget for the years 2026 and 2027 includes drug price limits, an expansion of the state's unfair trade practices act, key changes to hospital ownership laws and slots for 13 new judges.

Expert Analysis

  • Predictions For Trump Antitrust Enforcement Of Life Sciences

    Author Photo

    Key life sciences antitrust issues of the past two administrations may indicate the direction of enforcement during President-elect Donald Trump's second term, including in areas such as drug prices, killer acquisitions and merger remedies, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Nutraceutical Patent Insights As Market Heats Up

    Author Photo

    Companies entering the expanding nutraceutical market and seeking patents to protect their innovations should evaluate successful nutraceutical claim language and common patent challenges in this field, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

    Author Photo

    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • What 2024 Election Means For Drugs, Medicare And Medicaid

    Author Photo

    With Republicans running the White House, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, the incoming administration is likely to provide pathways — through new initiatives and others returning from Trump's previous presidency — for a range of potential changes to drug pricing, Medicare and Medicaid, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

    Author Photo

    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • What Bisphenol S Prop 65 Listing Will Mean For Industry

    Author Photo

    The imminent addition of bisphenol S — a chemical used in millions of products — to California's Proposition 65 list will have sweeping compliance and litigation implications for companies in the retail, food and beverage, paper, manufacturing and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Importance Of Trial Expert Specificity

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in NexStep v. Comcast highlights how even a persuasive expert’s failure to fully explain the basis of their opinion at trial can turn a winning patent infringement argument into a losing one, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

    Author Photo

    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case

    Author Photo

    After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

    Author Photo

    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Key Takeaways From FDA's Latest Social Media Warnings

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest untitled letter concerning a drug company's social media promotion provides lessons for how companies should navigate risk presentation, FDA labeling requirements and superiority claims, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Expect More State Scrutiny Of PE In Healthcare M&A

    Author Photo

    While a California bill that called for increased antitrust scrutiny of many healthcare private equity transactions was recently vetoed by the governor, state legislatures are likely to continue introducing similar laws, particularly if the Trump administration eases federal enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Declaring Unexpected Results: Pitfalls For Rule 132 At PTAB

    Author Photo

    Rule 132 declarations are frequently used in life sciences patent prosecution for rebutting obviousness rejections by establishing that an applicant's invention produces unexpected results, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's Eidschun ruling highlights when this important tool may be ineffective, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.

  • IP Ruling Likely To Limit Arguments Against Qualified Experts

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Osseo v. Planmeca, clarifying when experts may offer testimony from the perspective of a skilled artisan, provides helpful guidance on expert qualifications and could quash future timing arguments regarding declarants' expertise, says Whitney Jenkins at Marshall Gerstein.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Life Sciences archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!