Life Sciences

  • August 01, 2024

    AliveCor Asks 9th Circ. To Revive Apple Watch Antitrust Case

    Medical monitoring startup AliveCor Inc. told the Ninth Circuit that Apple Inc. should not be immunized from antitrust claims over the removal of access to heart rate data on the Apple Watch because the change was intended to block competition and not improve the device.

  • August 01, 2024

    Chancery Denies Ex-InterMune CEO $6M Legal Fee Right

    Delaware's Chancery Court rejected on Thursday a bid by former InterMune CEO W. Scott Harkonen to escape demands to repay nearly $6 million in legal fees covered by biotech venture InterMune Inc. and insurers during his unsuccessful defense against a 2009 wire fraud conviction, denying all claims for legal fee indemnification.

  • August 01, 2024

    JPML Won't Form MDL Of 35 Acne Product Benzene Suits

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday declined to consolidate 35 suits alleging Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., Target Corp. and others sold acne products that could break down into the carcinogen benzene, saying they don't have enough in common to warrant an MDL.

  • August 01, 2024

    Former Stimlabs Exec Doesn't Have To Hand Over Devices

    A Georgia federal judge on Thursday blocked a biomedical technology company's bid to seize the digital devices of a former executive accused of downloading thousands of internal files containing sensitive product information in the days and weeks leading up to her ouster from the company this year.

  • August 01, 2024

    Novo Nordisk Loses Challenge To Medicare Drug Price Talks

    Another challenge to a Medicare drug price negotiation program has failed after a New Jersey federal judge ruled once again that the program is voluntary and rejected claims that it violates the constitutional rights of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.

  • August 01, 2024

    AbbVie Wants Mass. Biotech Firm To Pay Up For Drug Work

    AbbVie Inc. says it's still owed nearly $1 million by a Massachusetts biopharmaceutical company for materials and work it provided as the smaller firm prepared to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a potential cancer treatment, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • August 01, 2024

    MoFo Adds 3-Atty IP Litigation Team In NY From Desmarais

    A trio of life sciences intellectual property litigation attorneys from Desmarais LLP have joined Morrison Foerster LLP in New York.

  • August 01, 2024

    Medtronic Still Faces Chancery Claim In Fortis' InPen Suit

    Delaware's Court of Chancery has trimmed a suit that stockholders' representative Fortis Advisors LLC filed against Medtronic Minimed Inc. after its 2020 acquisition of insulin pen manufacturer Companion Medical Inc., tossing claims related to a missed milestone but keeping one about a withheld escrow payment.

  • August 01, 2024

    R1 RCM Going Private In $8.9B Deal Steered By 4 Firms

    TowerBrook Capital Partners and Clayton Dubilier & Rice have agreed to take R1 RCM Inc. private in a deal that values the healthcare-focused tech provider at about $8.9 billion, the company said in a Thursday announcement.

  • August 01, 2024

    DLA Piper Hires Longtime Williams & Jensen Partner In DC

    DLA Piper has hired a former Williams & Jensen PLLC attorney who spent 24 years there working on healthcare public policy issues and representing biopharmaceutical companies and various insurance providers, the firm has announced. 

  • August 01, 2024

    Biotech Co. Biedermann Motech Hits Ch. 11 With $34M Debt

    Biedermann Motech, a maker of implants for spinal and extremity surgery, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with $34 million in debt.

  • August 01, 2024

    Hogan Lovells Recruits Two From Foley Hoag To Health Team

    Hogan Lovells said Thursday it has hired two Foley Hoag partners experienced in complex regulatory, legislative and legal policy affecting medical technology and biopharmaceutical companies to join the firm's health practice. 

  • July 31, 2024

    Del. Justices Reject New Earnout Claim In $300M Deal Appeal

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld dismissal of a post-sale stockholder representative suit challenging denial of accelerated, post-closing "earnout" payments after the merger of Edwards Lifesciences and Valtech Cardio Ltd., rejecting a stockholder bid to introduce post-appeal developments.

  • July 31, 2024

    2nd Circ. Paves Way For Conn. Zantac Bellwether, Attys Say

    A recent decision by the Second Circuit that upheld the remand to state court of product liability lawsuits alleging that generic versions of Zantac may have caused cancer has paved the way for more than 850 additional plaintiffs to move forward in state court, according to a recent filing.

  • July 31, 2024

    AI Prior Art Is Either Nothing New Or A Red Flag, USPTO Told

    Technology companies, drugmakers and various industry organizations have represented to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that they're torn on how artificial intelligence should be used when determining whether something is patentable over prior art.

  • July 31, 2024

    Del. Judge Clears Lupin's Generic Kidney Disease Drug

    A ruling out of a Delaware federal court on Wednesday prevented a major Japanese pharmaceutical company from using patent law to block an Indian rival's efforts to market a generic version of a blockbuster kidney disease treatment.

  • July 31, 2024

    Novartis Says FDA Wrongly OK'd Generic Heart Drug

    Pharmaceutical company Novartis alleges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unlawfully approved a generic version of the drugmaker's heart failure medication Entresto in a new lawsuit in D.C. federal court.

  • July 31, 2024

    Inhaler Patents 'Must Be' In Orange Book, Teva Tells Fed. Circ.

    Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. urged the Federal Circuit to upend a lower court decision ejecting inhaler device patents from an important government database, arguing that the delisting, won by Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an infringement lawsuit, ignores broad protection envisioned under intellectual property law.

  • July 31, 2024

    1st Circ. Mostly Backs $5M Award In Biotech Recruiting Spat

    The First Circuit left intact the vast majority of a $5 million post-trial award against a life sciences recruiting firm found to have misappropriated trade secrets from a rival involving placements at Takeda and Vedanta Biosciences.

  • July 31, 2024

    5 Trials To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    Upcoming high-profile trials over star lawyer Tom Girardi's alleged fraud, Hunter Biden's taxes and Washington state's "patent troll" law are among the cases to watch in the latter half of the year.

  • July 31, 2024

    AIG Units Off Hook In Defending McKesson Opioid Suits

    Two AIG insurers have no duty to defend McKesson Corp. over claims it intentionally over-distributed opioids, a California federal court ruled, saying the three underlying suits do not allege a potentially covered occurrence under policies issued between 1999 and 2004.

  • July 30, 2024

    Life Sciences Cases To Watch 2024: A Midyear Report

    From the U.S. Supreme Court down to the federal district courts, judges and lawmakers are grappling with questions crucial to the life sciences industry. Here are some of the biggest life sciences cases to watch in the second half of 2024. 

  • July 30, 2024

    2024 Product Liability Areas To Watch

    The growing movement in state laws about whether consumers can repair their own products is catching attorneys' eyes, as well as recent changes in rules that govern multidistrict litigation, which often involve pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

  • July 30, 2024

    Cook Medical Vein Filter Claims Came Too Late, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Cook Medical LLC's win in a woman's lawsuit claiming the company's inferior vena cava filter caused her to develop abdominal pain and that the device fractured when it was removed, saying the suit was filed after the statute of limitations had expired.

  • July 30, 2024

    DC Circ. Finds NIH's Comment Restrictions Unconstitutional

    The National Institutes of Health violated the First Amendment when the agency used keyword filters to hide comments from animal rights activists on its official Facebook and Instagram pages, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Weight-Loss Drugs May Spur Next Major Mass Tort

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    With lawsuits concerning Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs potentially becoming the next major mass tort in the U.S., companies should consider key defense strategies ranging from alternate dispute resolution to enhanced drug safety, say Dino Haloulos and Jarif Khan at Foley & Mansfield.

  • Opinion

    The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal

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    Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

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    Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • How Cos. Should Handle Research Org.'s Carcinogen Evals

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    In light of the International Agency of Research for Cancer's list of substances slated for review over the next five years, manufacturers of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer products should monitor for potentially unbalanced determinations, which could stimulate litigation regarding potential exposure from products, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity

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    In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans, there are several important considerations for sponsors and clinical researchers to keep in mind to prevent delay in a drug or device application, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What's New In The AI Healthcare Regulatory Space

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    Attorneys at Hogan Lovells review the current legal and regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence applications in healthcare, touching on policies around safety, transparency, nondiscrimination and reimbursement, and what to expect in the future.

  • Del. Dispatch: 27.6% Stockholder Not A Controller

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca — which found that the pharma giant, a 26.7% stockholder of Viela Bio Inc., was not a controller of Viela, despite having management control — shows that overall context matters when challenging transactions on breach of fiduciary duty grounds, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • 3 Policyholder Tips After Calif. Ruling Denying D&O Coverage

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    A California decision from June, Practice Fusion v. Freedom Specialty Insurance, denying a company's claim seeking reimbursement under a directors and officers insurance policy for its settlement with the Justice Department, highlights the importance of coordinating coverage for all operational risks and the danger of broad exclusionary policy language, says Geoffrey Fehling at Hunton.

  • 1 Year At The UPC: Implications For Transatlantic Disputes

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    In its first year, the Unified Patent Court has issued important decisions on procedures like provisional measures, but complexities remain when it comes to coordinating proceedings across jurisdictions like the U.S. due to differences in timelines and discovery practices, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.

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