Life Sciences

  • June 26, 2024

    State Data Privacy Law Patchwork: Midyear Report

    States jumped on the consumer data privacy law bandwagon at a brisk clip in the first half of 2024, although it remains unclear if this push will be enough to encourage Congress to finally enact a nationwide framework this year. 

  • June 26, 2024

    Choctaw Nation Wants 9th Circ. Rehearing In CVS Arb. Dispute

    The Choctaw Nation has asked the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing in an effort to undo the court's decision forcing it to arbitrate a dispute over prescription drug reimbursements with subsidiaries of CVS Health Corp., arguing it never waived sovereign immunity and did not agree to such proceedings on its Recovery Act claims.

  • June 26, 2024

    Apple Watch Improvement Is 'Inferior,' Docs Tell 9th Circ.

    Four cardiac specialists backed medical monitoring startup AliveCor against Apple in a Ninth Circuit amicus brief Tuesday arguing a district court wrongly nixed antitrust claims by crediting the phaseout of a heart rate monitoring algorithm as an improvement when all it did was deny patient access to "potentially life-saving" technology.

  • June 26, 2024

    House GOP Gears Up For The End Of Chevron Deference

    A new memo outlines how House Republicans are gearing up for the U.S. Supreme Court to potentially overturn the decades-old precedent that courts defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes, as an opportunity to roll back the Biden administration's policies and reclaim Congress' power.

  • June 26, 2024

    Squire Patton Adds Epstein Becker Healthcare Atty In DC

    An experienced healthcare and life sciences industries attorney has jumped from Epstein Becker Green PC to Squire Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C., the latter firm has announced.

  • June 26, 2024

    Pharma Co. PhaseBio Can Exit Ch. 11 With Wind-Down Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave her blessing for pharmaceutical developer PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. to liquidate its assets and wind down after settlement agreements with creditors and a business partner cleared a path for it to exit Chapter 11 after roughly 19 months.

  • June 26, 2024

    High Court 'Inadvertently' Posts Order Punting Abortion Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court mistakenly released a draft order Wednesday that would allow emergency abortions in Idaho, with a majority saying the court was wrong to consider a state challenge at this time.

  • June 26, 2024

    High Court Axes Challenge To Biden Admin's Social Media Work

    The U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a Fifth Circuit order prohibiting the Biden administration and several federal agencies from working with social media platforms to combat the spread of misinformation Wednesday, finding the states and individuals challenging the collaboration don't have standing to sue.

  • June 25, 2024

    Riley Safer Expands IP Practice With Chicago Partner

    Chicago firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP has bolstered its intellectual property practice by bringing on board an experienced litigator from Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum, the law firm announced Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    PTAB Wipes Out UMass Skin Disease Treatment Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has sided with Forte Biosciences in invalidating a University of Massachusetts patent on treating the skin disease vitiligo, ruling that the patent does not adequately describe the invention or enable a skilled person to make and use it.

  • June 25, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Restores Amarin's Skinny Label Suit Against Hikma

    The Federal Circuit revived litigation Tuesday accusing Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. of inducing physicians to infringe patents covering Amarin Pharma Inc.'s blockbuster cardiovascular drug Vascepa in a case over limited-use generics.

  • June 25, 2024

    Sarissa Capital, Founder Settle Bioverativ Suit In Del. For $40M

    Remaining parties in a Delaware Court of Chancery class action over the $11.6 billion sale of biotech venture Bioverativ Inc. to Sanofi Inc. in 2018 have agreed to settle their outstanding claims for $40 million in cash, according to a stipulation filed with the court Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Indiana U Settles Ricin-Carrying Fruit Fly Export Violations

    Indiana University has escaped fines, but it must instead educate the broader academic community at large on export controls under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Commerce after the institution sent unlicensed shipments overseas, of fruit flies carrying a subunit of ricin.

  • June 25, 2024

    Plaintiffs Firms Appealing $2.1B Fee Order In Opioid Case

    Motley Rice LLC, Weisman Kennedy & Berris Co. LPA, Stranch Jennings & Garvey PLLC, Crueger Dickinson LLP, Goldstein & Russell PC, Kelley & Ferraro LLP, Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP and Meyers & Flowers LLC are appealing $2.13 billion in attorney fees stemming from opioid settlements awarded earlier this month.

  • June 25, 2024

    Chancery OKs $71M Premier Deal, $14M Four-Firm Fee

    Shareholder attorneys led by Friedlander & Gorris who negotiated a $71 million settlement to end derivative Delaware Chancery Court litigation with healthcare-purchasing giant Premier Inc. will get $14 million for their efforts, the total fee award they sought.

  • June 25, 2024

    UK Billionaire's Pilot Avoids Prison For Insider Trading

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a former private jet pilot to house arrest Tuesday for insider trading on stock tips from his billionaire boss Joe Lewis, finding that a prison term would be unfair in comparison to Lewis' non-incarceratory sentence.

  • June 25, 2024

    Lye Buyers Can't Get Court OK For $38.5M Antitrust Deals

    A federal judge in Buffalo has rejected three settlements totaling $38.5 million for a proposed class of lye purchasers who alleged producers of the chemical colluded to inflate prices, ruling exceptions to who qualifies for the class make it impossible to determine membership.

  • June 25, 2024

    Litigation Pro Rejoins GRSM50 In Calif. From DeHay & Elliston

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has strengthened its litigation bench with a partner in Walnut Creek, California, who arrived from DeHay & Elliston LLP and who worked for six years earlier in his career as a senior counsel for GRSM50.

  • June 24, 2024

    Alleged Contract Killing Sparks Delaware Chancery Lawsuit

    Los Angeles biotech firm Renovaro Inc. has sued a former, purported scientific adviser and his husband in Delaware's Court of Chancery for damages tied to an assortment of fraudulent schemes allegedly shielded in part by a contract killing linked to a separate alleged international oil trading scam.

  • June 24, 2024

    Judge Mulls BioXcel's Duty To Tell Investors Of FDA Troubles

    A Connecticut federal judge wondered Monday if executives at the artificial intelligence-driven drugmaker BioXcel Therapeutics Inc. had an opportunity to correct problems that government regulators identified with a key clinical trial and, if so, whether their statements on the subject to investors could be considered false or misleading.

  • June 24, 2024

    NYC Pharmacy Owners Get Jail Time For $18M Med Fraud

    Two brothers who own several New York pharmacies will each have to pay over $18 million in restitution in addition to serving jail time for submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for pricey cancer medication and funneling illicit proceeds through several shell companies, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Undo Terror Victims' Win, Citing Twitter Decision

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday swept aside a D.C. Circuit ruling that threatened to expose major pharmaceutical companies to liability for terrorist attacks that injured or killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers and civilians in Iraq.

  • June 24, 2024

    LA Schools Says Pseudoscience Infected 9th Circ. Vax Ruling

    The Los Angeles Unified School District said Friday that a split Ninth Circuit panel leaned on pseudoscience when ruling that a rescinded employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate implicated the right of district employees to refuse medical treatment, urging an en banc panel to correct the "fatally flawed" decision.

  • June 24, 2024

    Ark. AG Sues Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Opioids

    The Arkansas attorney general said Monday that he had sued pharmacy benefit managers Optum Inc. and Express Scripts Inc. in state court, claiming they contributed to the opioid crisis and profited from the drug epidemic.

  • June 24, 2024

    Suit Over Medical Screws Filed Too Late, Texas Panel Finds

    A Texas appeals court won't revive a woman's suit against BioPro Inc. alleging that surgical screws used in her feet were defective, saying the evidence establishes that she filed her suit after the two-year statute of limitations had expired.

Expert Analysis

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting

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    While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory

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    Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • HHS Opioid Rule Generally Benefits Providers And Patients

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' newly effective rule, the first substantial change to opioid treatment programs and delivery standards in over 20 years, significantly expands access and reduces stigma around certain medications, though the rule is narrow in scope and does have some limitations, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 2 Recent Suits Show Resiliency Of Medicare Drug Price Law

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    Though pharmaceutical companies continue to file lawsuits challenging the Inflation Reduction Act, which enables the federal government to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, recent decisions suggest that the reduced drug prices are likely here to stay, says Jose Vela Jr. at Clark Hill.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

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    Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

  • Planning For Healthcare-Private Equity Antitrust Enforcement

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    U.S. antitrust agency developments could mean potential enforcement actions on healthcare-related acquisitions by private equity funds are on the way, and entities operating in this space should follow a series of practice tips, including early assessment of antitrust risks on both the state and federal level, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.

  • Opinion

    Why USPTO Should Issue Inherency Guidance Memo

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should issue a new guidance memo in regard to the standard for inherency during the examination process, as the standard is frequently misapplied during prosecution, and consistency of the standard in the USPTO should match that in the federal courts, says Irving Feit at Lucas & Mercanti.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

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