Life Sciences

  • May 02, 2024

    Pharma. Co. Wants Ex-Director To Stop Poaching Customers

    A pharmaceutical company has doubled down on its bid to stop a former director from soliciting customers for a rival drugmaker, saying he's trying to twist words in his contract and make up excuses for allegedly stealing trade secrets following his termination.

  • May 02, 2024

    Calif. Justices To Review Gilead's HIV Drug Negligence Fight

    The California Supreme Court has granted Gilead Sciences Inc.'s request to review an appellate court's holding that the drugmaker must face claims it held back a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on an older medication.

  • May 02, 2024

    State Legislators Urge Feds To Change Cannabis' Status

    A coalition of state lawmakers on Thursday urged the heads of the U.S. Department of Justice and its drug enforcement agency to prioritize changing cannabis' status as a highly restricted drug.

  • May 02, 2024

    Recent BigLaw Moves Show Boston Is 'Clearly On The Map'

    Three BigLaw firms' recent moves to build out physical footprints in Boston are a testament to the region's thriving technology, healthcare, life sciences and finance industries — a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, experts say.

  • May 02, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Workers' Suit Over SC Plant Explosion

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived claims from three workers burned in an explosion at a plastic recycling plant, saying the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law can't deprive the federal courts of diversity jurisdiction in a case where they would otherwise have it.

  • May 02, 2024

    Schumer Reups Call For His Judge Shopping Bill

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that a suit filed in a controversial Texas court challenging a new firearms policy from the Biden administration underscores the need for his bill to restrict so-called "judge shopping."

  • May 02, 2024

    Plaintiff To Share 'Horrific' Story In First Zantac Cancer Trial

    The first trial in sprawling state and federal litigation over whether a chemical in Zantac heartburn medication and its generic counterparts causes cancer began Thursday in a packed Chicago courtroom, with counsel for an 89-year-old Illinois woman telling jurors her colorectal cancer diagnosis and the suffering it's caused can be attributed to her 20-year use of the drug.

  • May 02, 2024

    Skin Care Drug Co. Gets OK For Ch. 11 Wind-Down Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday said she would approve the unopposed and unanimously approved Chapter 11 wind-down plans of the company previously known as Timber Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • May 02, 2024

    Freshfields-Led Novartis Inks $1.75B Cancer Drug Co. Buyout

    Novartis AG said Thursday it has agreed to buy U.S. radiopharmaceutical company Mariana Oncology in a transaction worth up to $1.75 billion, as the Swiss pharmaceutical giant moves to bolster its precision nuclear medicine portfolio.

  • May 01, 2024

    3 Takeaways From The DOJ's Cannabis Recommendation

    The marijuana advocacy and business world responded with guarded optimism after the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement this week that it recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana for the first time in more than 50 years.

  • May 01, 2024

    Dental Supply Co. Must Face Suit Over COVID-Era Woes

    Dental health products supplier Dentsply Sirona Inc. failed to get a suit dismissed accusing it of misleading investors about the extent of its pandemic-era woes, with a New York federal judge finding the suit identifies dozens of actionable misleading statements and plausibly pleads knowledge of wrongdoing by Dentsply's former executives.

  • May 01, 2024

    Bayer Can't Scratch Off Antitrust Suit Over Flea, Tick Meds

    A California federal judge has largely declined Bayer's bid to dismiss generics competitor Tevra's pet medication antitrust suit, saying in an order released Wednesday that there are factual disputes about whether Bayer's exclusivity deals with distributors and retailers significantly foreclosed Tevra's potential sales in the market.

  • May 01, 2024

    Median Patent Damages Awards Are Shrinking

    A New York accounting firm that provides damages experts for intellectual property cases has found in a new study that median damages awards in patent cases have declined over the last 15 years.

  • May 01, 2024

    Eiger Gets Deal With Merck Over $46M Rare-Disease Drug Sale

    Bankrupt Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc. told a Texas federal judge Wednesday it had struck a tentative agreement with drug company Merck & Co. over licensing rights to a rare-disease drug that it is selling for $46.1 million.

  • May 01, 2024

    3rd Circ. Flags Bayer's Knowledge Of Tainted Fungal Spray

    A proposed class of consumers who bought tainted Bayer antifungal sprays said they should have standing to sue because they didn't get the "benefit of the bargain" — and a Third Circuit panel questioned Wednesday if Bayer's separate suit blaming a supplier made the consumers' case for them.

  • May 01, 2024

    'Foul' BioVentrix Cash-Out Gets Extra Scrutiny, Chancery Says

    A medical device company's decision to suddenly and without explanation cash out its common stockholders for less than a penny just two months before the company raised $48.5 million in new capital creates such a "foul flavor" that it deserves extra scrutiny, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    J&J Unit Cuts Deal To End Cancer Drug Trade Secret Fight

    A New Jersey federal judge has signed off on a consent judgment that permanently bars Chinese drugmaker Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. from misappropriating Johnson and Johnson's pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen's trade secrets for its popular chemotherapy drug Yondelis.

  • May 01, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of Medicare Drug 'Price-Setting'

    A Fifth Circuit judge on Wednesday sharply criticized the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, characterizing it as government "price-setting" and questioning "what possible procompetitive justification" there can be for penalizing companies that don't participate.

  • May 01, 2024

    Insulin Pump Maker Wins Toss of Investor Suit For Now

    A California federal judge has sided with an insulin pump maker and tossed a suit alleging it misled investors about the potential growth of the company amid inflation and an uptick in competition, saying the suing investors have failed to plead any false or misleading statements or knowledge of wrongdoing by the defendants.

  • May 01, 2024

    Attys Say $5M Fee In Acella Settlement A Modest Proposal

    Plaintiffs' attorneys who recently reached a $46.5 million class action settlement with Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC over faulty thyroid medication asked a Georgia federal judge Tuesday to sign off on their $5 million cut of the deal as a "presumptively reasonable" proposal.

  • May 01, 2024

    AI Is Top Of Mind For Companies — And Securities Regulators

    As references to artificial intelligence in securities filings soar, attorneys say companies must ground their disclosures in fact and be upfront about risks posed by AI in order to avoid the wrath of regulators, who promise to crack down on misleading claims.

  • May 01, 2024

    J&J Proposes $6.5B Deal To End Ovarian Cancer Claims

    Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it is proposing a prepackaged reorganization plan for its talc unit that will pay out $6.5 billion to resolve claims that its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, if a supermajority of claimants agree to the plan.

  • April 30, 2024

    Ex-Olympus Exec Says He Was Fired For Flagging FDA Issue

    The former global head of product development at medical manufacturer Olympus Corp. said he was fired earlier this year after he reported multiple compliance concerns regarding the company's practices and related to nearly 100 products, according to a suit filed Monday in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • April 30, 2024

    Judge Strikes Parts Of NC Law Restricting Abortion Drug

    A North Carolina federal judge struck down parts of a state law Tuesday that restricts access to the abortion medication mifepristone, finding some provisions violate the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause by enacting safety regulations already considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as requiring in-person prescribing, dispensing and scheduling around the drug.

  • April 30, 2024

    Tech. Orgs Deny Being 'Apple's Puppets' In Watch Ban Fight

    A group of technology industry groups claimed they are "not Apple's puppets" as they seek to back the company in its Federal Circuit appeal of the U.S. International Trade Commission's ban on imports of Apple Watch models capable of monitoring blood oxygen levels.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Suits Against Insulin Pricing Are Driven By Rebate Addiction

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    A growing wave of lawsuits filed by states, cities and counties against insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers improperly allocate the blame for rising insulin costs, when in actuality the plaintiffs are partially responsible, says Dan Leonard at Granite Capitol Consulting.

  • Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling

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    A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

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    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    J&J Bankruptcy Could Thwart Accountability For Victims

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    Johnson & Johnson's latest attempt at a "Texas Two-Step" bankruptcy proceeding exemplifies the way in which corporate defendants can use bankruptcy to evade accountability, limit resources available to victims, and impose flawed, one-size-fits-all resolutions on diverse groups of plaintiffs, says Michelle Simpson Tuegel at Simpson Tuegel Law.

  • Inside The PTAB's Seagen Cancer Drug Patent Decision

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that Seagen's claims for antibody-drug conjugate technology were unpatentable — for lack of enablement, lack of written description and anticipation — mark the latest chapter in the complex patent dispute as the case heads for director review, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Opinion

    Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation

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    The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reducing The Risk Of PFAS False Advertising Class Actions

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    A wave of class actions continues to pummel products that allegedly contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, with plaintiffs challenging advertising that they say misleads consumers by implying an absence of PFAS — but there are steps companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

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