Life Sciences

  • October 14, 2025

    Embryo Loss Class Claims Hinge On Calif. Suit, Judge Says

    A Connecticut federal judge may pause a proposed class action blaming CooperSurgical Inc. for embryo losses during in vitro fertilization until a class certification motion is decided in a first-filed case in California, but the plaintiff will have until the end of the month to decide if she wants to proceed with only her direct claims instead.

  • October 14, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Revive Allergy Tester's Antitrust Case

    The Sixth Circuit refused to revive an allergy testing and treatment company's antitrust case accusing an insurer and a medical group of conspiring to squeeze it out of the market, after finding that doctors are the ones being directly harmed by the alleged activity.

  • October 14, 2025

    Meet HHS General Counsel Michael Stuart

    Michael Stuart, a former chief federal prosecutor for West Virginia, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services, where he has promised to make healthcare fraud enforcement a priority. 

  • October 14, 2025

    Attempts To Revive Stroke Treatment Patents Fail At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday tossed without analysis a challenge to Patent Trial and Appeal Board rulings that invalidated patents covering a stroke treatment system, letting stand one of the decisions deemed precedential by a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director.

  • October 14, 2025

    Freshfields Guides J&J's Planned Orthopedics Unit Spinoff

    Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it intends to separate its orthopedics business into a stand-alone company within the next 18 to 24 months, with Freshfields LLP advising on the planned spinoff of the unit. 

  • October 14, 2025

    Ōura Valuation Soars To $11B After $900M Financing Round

    Fitness-tracking ring maker Ōura on Tuesday revealed it had reached a roughly $11 billion valuation after securing over $900 million in a funding round, which it says will help it develop new technologies, speed up artificial intelligence and product innovation, and expand global distribution.

  • October 14, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week at the Delaware Chancery Court, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will ruled that Carlos Vasallo remains the CEO of Caribevision TV Network LLC, finding that majority investors' attempt to remove him under a defective 2019 agreement was invalid for lack of proper notice.

  • October 14, 2025

    Blood Test Co. Can't Escape Willful Infringement Claims

    A company that makes diagnostic medical tests has been denied a bid to escape from a medical research firm's claims that it willfully infringed patents when a judge held that reading the allegations in combination creates a plausible basis that the company had knowledge of the patents.

  • October 14, 2025

    Covington, Sidley Guide $700M BioCryst Allergic Disease Deal

    BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. will purchase Astria Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for allergic and immunologic diseases, in a cash and stock deal worth about $700 million, the companies announced Tuesday.

  • October 14, 2025

    High Court Won't Hear FDA Stem Cell Regulation Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a circuit court holding that a stem cell treatment derived from a patient's own tissue is subject to Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulations.

  • October 10, 2025

    Some Cases Advance In Latest Stewart Discretionary Rulings

    Deputy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart rejected 37 Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions Friday night, but allowed 17 challenges to proceed.

  • October 10, 2025

    Zantac MDL Suits Were Impropely Tossed, 11th Circ. Told

    Consumers urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive their claims in a multidistrict litigation alleging that the main ingredient in the heartburn medication Zantac causes cancer, saying the court overseeing the case improperly sided with drugmakers' experts and preempted more claims from coming forward.

  • October 10, 2025

    Federal Worker Unions Press For Immediate Block Of Layoffs

    Unions representing federal workers urged a California federal court Friday to immediately block the Trump administration from laying off workers amid the government shutdown as the administration acknowledged it had begun issuing reduction-in-force notices to thousands of employees.

  • October 10, 2025

    AstraZeneca Strikes 'Most Favored Nation' Price Deal

    Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Friday cut a deal with the Trump administration to reduce drug prices in the United States, agreeing to provide its medications for Medicaid beneficiaries at discount prices.

  • October 10, 2025

    ATyr Pharma Faces Investor Suit Over Failed Drug Trial

    Rare disease biotech aTyr Pharma Inc. and its CEO have been hit with a proposed shareholder class action accusing them of misleading the public about the efficacy of aTyr's lung disease treatment for several months before announcing its trial had not yielded favorable results.

  • October 10, 2025

    Profs Say Apple Used Copyrighted Material For AI Training

    Two neuroscientists have sued Apple in California federal court, claiming it made use of their copyrighted materials to train its artificial intelligence model Apple Intelligence.

  • October 10, 2025

    Covington, Goodwin Guide Bristol Myers' $1.5B Orbital Buy

    Bristol Myers Squibb plans to acquire privately held Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion in cash, aiming to expand its pipeline in cell- and RNA-based therapies for autoimmune diseases, the companies announced Friday.

  • October 10, 2025

    Pharma Co. Escapes Suit Over Ex-CEO's Alleged Misconduct

    Exscientia PLC on Friday won dismissal of a proposed class action related to the termination of its CEO after claims emerged that he participated in inappropriate workplace relationships, with the court finding the investors failed to show that the company's statements about its culture and governance were anything more than puffery.

  • October 10, 2025

    Clinical Trial Co. Settles Severance Fight With Ex-VP

    A clinical research company has agreed to shutter a lawsuit from an ex-executive who claimed his requests for severance went ignored following his resignation, according to a Friday filing in North Carolina federal court.

  • October 10, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Paddington Bear's creators and Studio Canal sue the company behind Spitting Image, Blackpool Football Club's former owner Owen Oyston bring a fresh claim against the club, and Mishcon de Reya sue a Saudi investment group.

  • October 09, 2025

    Justices Urged To Clarify Patent Validity In Entresto Case

    Generic-drug makers, academics and others are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take a case involving Novartis' blockbuster cardiovascular drug Entresto, saying the justices must bring consistency to conflicting Federal Circuit precedent on the role of later technology in assessing patent validity.

  • October 09, 2025

    Biotronik Wants Full 9th Circ. Review Of Whistleblower Ruling

    Biotronik Inc. urged the full Ninth Circuit to review a panel ruling that revived a whistleblower suit alleging the company used unlawful compensation tactics to boost heart-device sales, saying it should have been tossed based on prior disclosures in news articles.

  • October 09, 2025

    Pharma Co. Looks To Nix 'Absurd' Award Over Acne Drug

    Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is urging a New York federal court to partially undo an arbitral award issued in a dispute over intellectual property for an acne drug, saying the award, if allowed to stand, could interfere with a medication that's been available in Canada for years.

  • October 09, 2025

    9th Circ. Probes Buyers On HIV Drug Antitrust Claims

    Insurers and health plans told a Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday that a lower court was wrong to toss their claims that Gilead orchestrated a product-hop scheme for its HIV drugs ahead of trial and for not seeing a price drop as evidence of an alleged agreement with Teva to delay generics.

  • October 09, 2025

    NJ Justices Probe Insurer's Role In $12M Settlement Fight

    The New Jersey Supreme Court zeroed in Thursday on how far insurers can go in reserving their rights without taking a definitive position on coverage, as Mist Pharmaceuticals LLC accused Berkley Insurance Co. of stonewalling a $12 million settlement by hiding behind ambiguity in its "capacity exclusion" clause.

Expert Analysis

  • Should Patent Disputes Be Filed In The ITC Or UPC?

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    When companies must choose between initiating patent litigation in the U.S. International Trade Commission or the European Union's Unified Patent Court, the ITC may offer a few distinct advantages, but ultimately the decision requires consideration of case-specific factors, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Opinion

    NJ Should Align With Federal Rule On Expert Testimony

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    The time is right to amend Rule 702 of the New Jersey Rules of Evidence to align it with the recently amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and clarify the standard for admissibility of expert testimony, says Timothy Freeman at Tanenbaum Keale.

  • 2 NY Rulings May Stem Foreign Co. Derivative Suits

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    In recent decades, shareholders have challenged the internal affairs doctrine by bringing a series of derivative actions in New York state court on behalf of foreign corporations, but the New York Court of Appeals' recent rulings in Ezrasons v. Rudd and Haussmann v. Baumann should slow that trend, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Recent Reports Shed Light On Section 340B's Effectiveness

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    Recent analyses of the Section 340B program's effectiveness in helping patients afford drugs in Minnesota reinforce concerns about the program's lack of transparency and underscore the need for further evaluation of whether legislative reform should be enacted, say William A. Sarraille at the University of Maryland, and Andrée-Anne Fournier and Molly Frean at Analysis Group.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Pass IP Reform, Starting With 3 Patent Bills

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    Congress is considering a trio of bipartisan bills to fix patent law problems that have cropped up over the past two decades, and it shouldn't stop there — addressing two other intellectual property issues is critical for America's economy, says retired Judge Kathleen O'Malley at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Class Standing Issues Still Murky After Justices Punt LabCorp

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    While litigants and district courts had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in LabCorp v. Davis would provide much-needed clarity on the interplay between Article III standing and class certification, the court's failure to rule on the issue leaves disagreement, confusion and uncertainty for stakeholders, says Erica Rutner at Cozen O'Connor.

  • When Reshoring, IP Issues Require A Strong Action Plan

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    With recent headlines highlighting tariffs as high as 3,521%, more firms will contemplate reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., and they will need to consider important intellectual property issues as part of this complex, expensive and lengthy undertaking, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • 5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Prospects And Challenges For Expert Evidence At The UPC

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    Expert testimony on economic or damages-related issues will likely play a larger part in Unified Patent Court proceedings in the near future, potentially presenting unique challenges for experts, counsel and judges alike, say analysts at Charles River.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

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    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

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    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Parsing A Lack Of Antitrust Info-Sharing Enforcement Clarity

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    Information sharing among competing firms has recently faced dramatic changes in antitrust agency guidance, while courts grapple with the permissible scope of pricing algorithms, leaving companies in limbo, but potential Trump administration changes could offer some reprieve, say attorneys at Axinn.

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