Deals & Corporate Governance

Expert Analysis

• FTC Hospital Review Shows Hurdles To Failing-Firm Defense

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent announcement about Fairfield Medical Center's abandoned sale to OhioHealth shows why financially distressed sellers must conduct an adequate buyer search before using the failing-firm defense to argue that enforcers should overlook competition concerns, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Navigating A Key Inflection Point In Biosimilar Sector M&A

  

  As biosimilar mergers and acquisitions gain notice amid U.S. Food and Drug Administration reforms, a maturing patent framework and a looming patent cliff, companies diversifying into the higher-growth biologics space should align their regulatory, intellectual property and transactional strategies, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Preparing For Broader Calif. Rules On PE Healthcare Deals

  

  California's recent emergency regulations implementing expanded healthcare transaction review requirements, such as for private equity and hedge funds, represent a notable expansion of state oversight, including enhanced disclosures, wider definitions and new advance notice requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Justices' Hikma Reasoning May Extend Well Beyond Pharma

  

  The active steps framework announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Hikma v. Amarin decision, finding that Amarin failed to plausibly allege inducement of infringement, has the potential to reshape how courts evaluate inducement claims across patent, copyright and other doctrines, say attorneys at BCLP.

• Prepping Health Businesses For Sale In A Data-Driven Market

  

  In a thinner market for healthcare transactions, with both regulators and buyers using artificial intelligence to inspect data in great detail, the margin for error in sellers' financials and legal diligence has narrowed, requiring more proactive compliance efforts, says Cody Dumas at FBFK Law.

• Rejection Of NLRB Successor Bar Renews An Employer Tool

  

  Although the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling in Hospital Menonita v. National Labor Relations Board does not allow purchasers to disregard incumbent unions, employers acquiring a unionized business have regained a tool to challenge a union's majority support, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

• DOJ Fraud Declination Highlights Self-Disclosure Tradeoffs

  

  As exemplified by the U.S. Department of Justice's declination of charges against Campus Eye Management under its new corporate enforcement policy, self-disclosure can be an attractive option for healthcare companies navigating criminal exposure, but should be weighed against potential costs, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• How 'Most Favored Nation' Regime Affects Biopharma Deals

  

  As M&A activity surges in the biopharma space, companies will need to account for the Trump administration's most-favored-nation pricing proposals — durable in concept, if unsettled in detail — when drafting deals, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Midyear Trends, Takeaways As Securities Class Actions Surge

  

  High numbers of securities class actions through June suggest filings will stay elevated, with factors like changing enforcement attitudes, media scrutiny and the proliferation of potential defendants serving as both cause and effect in increased litigation involving AI-related disclosures, health and tech companies, and foreign issuers, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• A New Era Of Scrutiny For China-Linked Pharma Deals

  

  As Congress considers bipartisan legislation that would heighten regulatory scrutiny for life sciences deals involving Chinese biotech entities, companies should reassess the risks and due diligence requirements that will come with using heavily China-dependent pipelines, says Jen Maki at Ankura.

• How Maine's Expanded Health Deal Reviews Complicate M&A

  

  A pair of recently approved Maine competition laws establish notice and approval requirements for certain healthcare transactions and expand state antitrust oversight, creating new hurdles for dealmakers as states take a more aggressive role in policing healthcare consolidation, especially involving private equity, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Key Tips For Patenting Antibody-Drug Conjugate Inventions

  

  Recent decisions highlight the significant challenges that can arise when patenting antibody-drug conjugates, which require strategic considerations for satisfying heightened written description and enablement requirements, says Xiaoban Xin at FisherBroyles.

• 8 Ways 2026's Market Divide Is Rewriting Real Estate Risk

  

  As construction activity increasingly concentrates in data centers, healthcare and other resilient sectors, real estate developers and their counsel in the second half of 2026 should consider earlier risk allocation and more protective contract terms, and expect greater pressure on labor, pricing and infrastructure, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.