Life Sciences

April 09, 2020
4 Key Developments As Coronavirus Nears Possible Peak

The Trump administration suspended numerous health care rules late Thursday in hopes of maximizing the nation's medical workforce as the coronavirus crisis appears to be hurtling toward its darkest hours. Here are four key developments to know.
April 09, 2020
Fla. Health Workers Say China Is Hoarding Protective Supplies

A group of Florida medical professionals have accused China of hoarding personal protection equipment in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and refusing to export the much-needed equipment to the U.S., according to a Florida federal lawsuit.
April 09, 2020
Daiichi Says Court Should Decide Drug Patent Fight Venue

Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. told a Delaware court Wednesday that it must decide whether its dispute with a U.S. biotechnology company over cancer drug patents must be arbitrated or litigated, saying a magistrate judge created a "new bright-line rule" when she recommended referring the matter to an arbitrator.
April 09, 2020
Fed. Circ. Revives Nevro Spine Pain IP Axed As Indefinite

The Federal Circuit on Thursday revived claims of four Nevro Corp. patents covering spinal cord stimulation technology that a California federal judge had invalidated as indefinite, faulting how the judge construed several key terms.
April 09, 2020
Calif. Small Businesses Sue China For $8T Over COVID-19

Two California real estate companies and some small business groups have filed a proposed federal class action against China on behalf of all American small businesses, seeking at least $8 trillion for what they say is the Chinese government's culpability in the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 09, 2020
FDA Warns InfoWars Over COVID-19 Claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday told Alex Jones and his online InfoWars store to stop selling products falsely touted as cures or treatments for the novel coronavirus, following a similar directive from the New York attorney general.
April 09, 2020
Fed. Circ. Backs EDTX Decision Clearing Needle Co. In IP Suit

The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed an Eastern District of Texas decision clearing Repro-Med Systems Inc. in a patent lawsuit over medical needle devices, concluding the needle maker's products do not contain a groove described in the disputed patent.
April 09, 2020
Ex-Zimmer Exec's Discharge Claim Cut From Sex Bias Case

A federal judge has spiked a former Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. executive's claim that she was forced to quit because she wouldn't mislead investors or improperly fire employees, saying that allegation had already hit a roadblock in court.
April 09, 2020
Amazon To Fight Ex-Worker's Medical Pot Suit In State Court

Amazon can’t use the Americans with Disabilities Act to keep in federal court a wrongful discrimination suit filed by a former warehouse employee who failed a drug test after using medical marijuana, a New Jersey judge ruled Thursday.
April 09, 2020
1st Circ. Finds No Fraud In Ocular Therapeutix Stock Suit

Biotech company Ocular Therapeutix didn't intentionally mislead investors in conference calls and filings about manufacturing problems that led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration twice denying its steroid treatment for eye pain, the First Circuit said Thursday.
April 09, 2020
Coronavirus Litigation: The Week In Review

States are facing lawsuits amid a push for remote voting in upcoming elections, United Airlines has been sued over refunds for canceled flights, and Walmart was hit with wrongful death claims from the family of a worker fatally infected by the novel coronavirus.
April 09, 2020
7th Circ. Is Told National Class Can't Stay In Ill. TCPA Suit

Health information technology company IQVIA has told the Seventh Circuit that a major high court ruling limiting personal jurisdiction in mass torts extends to class actions, as part of the company's effort to cut national consumers out of a proposed class suit over unwanted faxes.
April 09, 2020
COVID-19 Test Maker Hits 'Nefarious' Co. With TM Suit

A COVID-19 test maker has lodged a trademark suit accusing a "nefarious" company of falsely marketing its coronavirus testing kits to consumers, telling a Florida federal court that the kits are not approved for at-home use and were never sold to the company.
April 08, 2020
Juno Awarded Over $1.1B In Final Judgment For IP Case

A California federal judge on Wednesday entered final judgment awarding Juno Therapeutics and Sloan Kettering enhanced damages of over $389 million while boosting the total award to over $1.1 billion after a jury found that Kite Pharma willfully infringed a patent for a cancer immunotherapy.
April 08, 2020
Pfizer Beats Viagra MDL After Plaintiffs' Experts Booted

Pfizer on Wednesday won an unopposed motion for summary judgment in multidistrict litigation alleging its product Viagra is linked to melanoma, setting the stage for an appeal of a California federal judge's January order excluding key expert testimony, which consumers have vowed to take to the Ninth Circuit.
April 08, 2020
Intel, Universities Support Freeing Up IP To Fight COVID-19

The push to free up intellectual property to fight the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to expand, with Intel and Medtronic, key research universities and others offering up their IP, and as United Nations officials support putting the health emergency over patent rights.
April 08, 2020
Fed Circ. Revives Mylan Bid To Invalidate Relistor Patent

The Federal Circuit revived a Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. bid to invalidate the patent for opioid-induced constipation drug Relistor, ruling Wednesday that a lower court was too hasty in finding that the generic company failed to show the brand name drug’s formula was obvious.
April 08, 2020
Fed. Circ. Rules BASF's Polymer Patent Row Wrongly Axed

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a Georgia federal court’s decision invalidating BASF Corp.’s polymer patent claims asserted against SNF Holding Co., Flopam Inc. and Chemtall Inc., saying the lower court got the legal standard for the patent’s validity wrong.
April 08, 2020
GM, Philips Getting $1.1B For Coronavirus Ventilators

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced $1.1 billion in contracts under a wartime production law for GM and Philips to build more than 70,000 ventilators, a vital medical device for the most seriously ill coronavirus patients.
April 08, 2020
EU Open To 'Comforting' Drugmakers Cooperating Amid Virus

European Union antitrust officials issued new guidance Wednesday aimed at helping companies know the types of coordination permitted to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular emphasis for drugmakers who got a "comfort letter" on generic-drug cooperation.
April 08, 2020
1st Circ. Backs NuVasive's Noncompete With Ex-Sales Rep

The First Circuit said Wednesday that medical device company NuVasive can stop a former sales employee from working for a rival firm, upholding a lower court's preliminary injunction enforcing a nonsolicitation and noncompete agreement the worker signed.
April 08, 2020
NY AG Seeks Additional Sackler Family Financial Info

The New York attorney general on Tuesday asked a bankruptcy court to resume discovery into the finances of the Sackler family, who owns Purdue Pharma LP, saying that her office has already unearthed important information about money transfers the family has made.
April 08, 2020
Okla. Wants To Enforce PBM Law Amid COVID-19 Crisis

The Oklahoma Insurance Department has told a federal judge that it plans to withdraw from an agreement that tabled the enforcement of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers during a legal challenge, saying the coronavirus pandemic changed the situation.
April 08, 2020
FDA Warns More CBD Sellers About Bogus COVID-19 Claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told two more CBD companies to stop making allegedly fraudulent claims that their products prevent or treat COVID-19, part of a broader effort by regulators to crack down on bogus health claims amid the coronavirus pandemic.
April 08, 2020
SEC Suspends 3 More OTC Stocks Over COVID-19 Concerns

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investor protection efforts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic have recently concentrated on issuing temporary trading suspensions for lightly traded over-the-counter stocks that dubiously surged in recent weeks.

Editor's Picks

All Work, No Pay: HHS Sues Gilead Over HIV-Prevention IP

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accused Gilead Sciences Inc. on Wednesday of infringing four agency patents covering the use of HIV treatment medication to prevent infection, escalating a fight that has been brewing for months.

Expert Analysis

High Court Inaction Paves Way For Increasing FCA Dismissals

Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court denial of certiorari in U.S. v. JPMorgan Chase has implications for False Claims Act litigants because it maintains important precedent allowing the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss whistleblower cases without being subject to probing judicial review, say Brandon Moss and Michelle Bradshaw at Wiley Rein.
Early Securities Class Actions Highlight COVID Litigation Risk

Securities class actions against Norwegian Cruise Lines and Inovio Pharmaceuticals in Florida and Pennsylvania federal courts underscore the precautions companies should consider when evaluating whether their public filings appropriately disclose coronavirus-related exposure, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
How Sellers Can Avoid Price-Gouging For 'Essential' Cannabis

With the nascent cannabis industry unexpectedly being labeled "essential" and experiencing a sudden surge in consumer demand, dispensaries and operators must be careful to avoid triggering violations of state-specific price-gouging laws, say Joshua Mandell and Evelina Gentry at Akerman.
Don't Forget Firm Culture When Adapting To Remote Work

While law firms suddenly pivoting to remote work due to coronavirus restrictions are busy dealing with logistical challenges, an equally pressing and perhaps more difficult task may be adjusting a long-standing brick-and-mortar culture to working remotely for the first time, say Heather Clauson Haughian and Grant Walsh at Culhane Meadows.
COVID-19 Countermeasure Protections Are Not Absolute

The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act should protect manufacturers from lawsuits over products deployed in the battle against COVID-19, but plaintiffs who suffer injury will not be entirely without recourse, say attorneys at Crowell.
Does COVID-19 Fall Under Insurers' Pollution Exclusions?

Despite inconsistent rulings from state and federal courts, an analysis of bacterial and viral contamination cases provides insight on whether COVID-19 is the type of environmental harm expected to fall within insurance policies' pollution provisions, says Elise Allen at BatesCarey.
Predicting COVID-19's IP Impact From Past Recessions' Stats

Analysis of U.S. patent data from the last two recessions enables predictions about trends we may see during the COVID-19 recession, including a large decline in filing activity, as well as best practices companies should employ during this time, says Pedram Sameni at Patexia.
5th Circ. Ruling Amplifies Bristol-Myers Class Action Debate

The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Cruson v. Jackson National Life Insurance guides defendants on raising the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 Bristol-Myers ruling as a jurisdictional objection to a nationwide class, even though it deepens a circuit split, says Michael Ruttinger at Tucker Ellis.
Conducting Court Hearings Remotely: 12 Considerations

As more courts begin to explore remote hearings during the COVID-19 crisis, attorneys and courts should be aware of some of the common concerns accompanying video- and teleconferencing technology and make allowances to avoid these issues, say Attison Barnes III and Krystal Swendsboe at Wiley Rein.
7 Ways COVID-19 Product Makers Can Mitigate IP Infringement

When a manufacturer retools its facilities to produce products needed to combat COVID-19, the risk of patent infringement liability — including the possibility of enhanced damages due to willful infringement — can be mitigated through a variety of strategies, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Pandemic May Spur Reform Of Lab Test Regulation

Many have expected that Congress would not meaningfully address legislation for laboratory-developed tests until 2022, but the COVID-19 outbreak has potentially changed that, as bills were introduced in both the House and Senate last month, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
Key CARES Act Implications For Health And Life Sciences

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, passed last month, is expected to provide significant monetary relief to the health care and life sciences companies, as well as investors in the space, say Kevin Rinker and Jacob Stahl at Debevoise.
The Era Of Video Mediation Is Here — Or Is It?

Mediator Jeff Kichaven has heard from several first-chair trial lawyers and senior claims executives that they are reluctant to adopt online video mediation even during the COVID-19 crisis, and says this reluctance is grounded in reality.
COVID-19 Highlights BigLaw Need For Emotional Intelligence

The formula for making decisions at BigLaw firms has historically been rooted in IQ-based factors, but with the ongoing pandemic, lawyers and firm leaders are increasingly dealing with issues that require emotional intelligence — from establishing effective virtual offices to retaining firm morale and client confidence, say Jolie Balido and Tina van der Ven at NewStar Media.
D&O Insurance Tips For Coronavirus-Related Claims

Directors and officers liability insurance may prove to be a source of relief for public companies battling shareholder claims stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, depending on specific language and exclusions that must be carefully reviewed, say Catherine Doyle and Jan Larson at Jenner & Block.