Life Sciences

  • May 31, 2024

    COVID Test Contract Suit 'Cries Out' For Jury, NC Judge Says

    A fight between two companies over a doomed distribution deal for COVID-19 tests has gone from "ships passing in the night" to not even "sailing in the same ocean," a North Carolina Business Court judge said, paring the case for trial.

  • May 31, 2024

    Weight Loss Drug Caused Stomach Paralysis, Suit Says

    A Kentucky woman on Friday sued Novo Nordisk A/S and its affiliates in federal court, alleging that the company failed to warn patients that its weight loss treatment Saxenda carried the risk of incurable stomach paralysis.

  • May 31, 2024

    Beasley Allen Wants J&J Subpoenas Nixed Amid Ethics Fight

    The Beasley Allen Law Firm and a plaintiff steering committee in the Johnson & Johnson talc litigation blasted subpoenas directed at the firm and others aimed at turning up evidence of an alleged scheme to muster opposition to J&J's latest $6.5 billion bankruptcy plan.

  • May 31, 2024

    New Antibody IP Ruling Still Needs To Be Tested In Courts

    A May decision from top U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials is giving some attorneys renewed hope that they'll be able to secure antibody patents, but they say the agency's ruling may not be enough to overcome courts that have been hostile toward these patents.

  • May 31, 2024

    In Rarity, 1 Party's Judges Gain 100% Control Of Circuit Bench

    At the First Circuit, the judges' robes are all black, but the judges are all blue. It's a new and unusual instance of one political party's judicial picks controlling each active seat on a federal appeals court, and the Democratic dominance could prove magnetic for ideologically charged litigation.

  • May 31, 2024

    FDA Seeks Fines Over Elf Bar E-Cigarette Sales

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said that it is seeking civil money penalties from nine stores and one online retailer for selling Elf Bar e-cigarettes, after previously warning them about sales of unauthorized tobacco products.

  • May 30, 2024

    Warren Pushes To Clinch 'Popular' Drug Patent 'March-In' Plan

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, Thursday urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to finalize a proposal that would allow the government to take possession of "taxpayer-funded" patents on drugs and lease them to generic-drug makers, saying the "popular framework will help reduce exorbitant drug costs."

  • May 30, 2024

    Exec Found Liable For 'Shadow Trading' Seeks New Trial

    A former executive of biopharmaceutical company Medivation Inc. whom a jury found liable for using inside information from his company when he purchased stock in a rival pharmaceutical maker has moved for a new trial in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel "shadow trading" case.

  • May 30, 2024

    Rite Aid Ch. 11 Timeline Extended To Allow More Plan Review

    A New Jersey judge on Thursday lengthened the timeline for Rite Aid to seek an exit from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pushing the confirmation hearing date out by seven days after insurers and others said the company's schedule would not provide enough time to review its restructuring plan.

  • May 30, 2024

    'South Park'-Quoting Judge Says CEO Can't 'Blame Canada'

    In a ruling drawing on the show about four foul-mouthed boys from Colorado, a Pennsylvania federal judge said a CEO who sued his former company could not blame Canada for an unfavorable arbitration ruling in a case where he claimed he was wrongly fired from his post.

  • May 30, 2024

    What To Watch As The FTC Targets Drug Patent Listings

    The Federal Trade Commission has been scrutinizing patents listed by drugmakers on a key federal database, warning several companies that their listings are improper and drive up drug prices. Here's a look at what the agency and others could do next.

  • May 30, 2024

    Pa. Court Blocks State's Recall Over Cannabis Vape Additives

    The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has permanently blocked the state Department of Health from enforcing a 2022 recall of medical cannabis products containing certain additives, on the grounds that the department's reversal on the additives' approval was a "de facto regulation" that was enacted without the proper procedures.

  • May 30, 2024

    Ozempic Maker Says Texas Pharmacy Selling Knockoff Drug

    The manufacturer behind the Ozempic weight loss drug has asked a federal court to prohibit a Houston-area pharmacy from selling compounded, non-FDA-approved medications that claim to contain the drug's key ingredient.

  • May 30, 2024

    3M Nixes Teva Inhaler Patent On Appeal At EPO

    3M Innovative Properties Co. has convinced European officials to ax a patent owned by Israeli generic-drug maker Teva for an inhaler that relieves pulmonary disease symptoms, arguing that other scientists would have eventually figured out its special formula.

  • May 30, 2024

    Ex-Sidley Atty To Lead Faegre's West Coast Class Action Team

    Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP is boosting its litigation team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a Sidley Austin LLP class action ace as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • May 29, 2024

    NY Attys Back Bid For Justices To Hear Double-Patenting Row

    A petition looking to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into a double-patenting dispute has received support from a trade group of New York patent lawyers.

  • May 29, 2024

    South Baltimore Citizens Call On EPA For Incinerator Relief

    Baltimore has turned a blind eye to South Baltimore residents suffering from respiratory diseases and persistently urging the city to transition away from Maryland's largest trash incinerator to zero-waste infrastructure for dealing with refuse, two environmental groups and a residents group say in an administrative complaint Wednesday.

  • May 29, 2024

    FDA Sued Over Controversial Lab Test Rule

    A clinical lab trade group that has been highly critical of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new final rule on laboratory-developed tests filed a lawsuit late Wednesday, saying the agency doesn't have the authority to regulate the tests as medical devices.

  • May 29, 2024

    Israeli Nanotech Startup, Canadian Biotech Plot US IPOs

    An Israeli nanotech startup launched plans Wednesday for an estimated $75 million U.S. initial public offering, while a Canadian-listed biotechnology company also filed documents to tap U.S. markets, adding to a recent spate of cross-border listings.

  • May 29, 2024

    Chicago IP Firm Accused Of Botching Fetal Biotech Patent

    A company that makes technology that can detect fetal asphyxia and distress has alleged in Illinois state court that Chicago law firm Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP cost it millions when it registered the company's patents under one of its former employees, who then used its intellectual property to launch a competing company.

  • May 29, 2024

    Wilson Sonsini Adds 2 Attys In Salt Lake City From Kirkland

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC has continued to expand its growing, three-year-old Salt Lake City, Utah, office with the recent addition of two experienced litigators who moved their practices from Kirkland & Ellis.

  • May 29, 2024

    Gibson Dunn, Skadden Guide $3B Merck-EyeBio Deal

    Gibson Dunn-led Merck said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase ophthalmology-focused biotech company Eyebiotech Ltd., or EyeBio, which is represented by Skadden, for up to $3 billion.

  • May 29, 2024

    3 Firms Build $627M Take-Private Sale Of Medical Device Biz

    Medical device company Surmodics Inc. on Wednesday revealed it has agreed to be bought by private equity giant GTCR for $627 million in a take-private deal built by Kirkland & Ellis, Faegre Drinker and Cleary Gottlieb.

  • May 29, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Adds IP Atty From Eversheds Sutherland

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has bolstered its California bench of attorneys with an Eversheds Sutherland lawyer who has years of experience advising digital health and medical device companies on intellectual property issues.

  • May 29, 2024

    Whistleblower Counsel Can't Get 'Exorbitant' $11.5M Fee

    A Boston federal judge slashed an "exorbitant" $11.5 million fee request made by counsel for a False Claims Act whistleblower in a case involving lab testing company Fresenius Medical Care, hammering the attorneys for inflated hourly rates, inflated time entries and a host of questionable billing practices.

Expert Analysis

  • 9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense

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    The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine

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    Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • A Changing Regulatory Landscape For Weight Loss Drugs

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    As drugs originally approved to treat diabetes become increasingly popular for weight loss purposes, federal and state regulators and payors are increasing their focus on how these drugs are prescribed, and industry participants should pay close attention to rapidly evolving compliance requirements, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Opioid Suits Offer Case Study In Abatement Expert Testimony

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    Settlements in the opioid multidistrict litigation provide useful insight into leveraging expert discovery on abatement in public nuisance cases, and would not have been successful without testimony on the costs necessary to lessen the harms of the opioid crisis, says David Burnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April

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    Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals

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    Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

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