Life Sciences

  • June 04, 2026

    No 'Conspiracy To Hide Asbestos' In Talc, J&J Atty Tells Jury

    An attorney for Johnson & Johnson said Thursday during closing arguments of a six-week bellwether trial that the only way three women's deadly ovarian cancers were caused by the company's talc would be a vast worldwide conspiracy to hide that asbestos is present in the products, but it just "doesn't make sense."

  • June 04, 2026

    Generics Cos. Get More Freedom In High Court Patent Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday shutting down a patent case involving a generic heart drug that uses a so-called skinny label establishes a road map for generics companies to avoid such suits and creates hurdles for branded companies pursuing infringement litigation, attorneys say.

  • June 04, 2026

    Amgen Won't Face 'Nonsensical' Rodent Antibody IP At Trial

    A Delaware federal judge has trimmed Harbour Medical's infringement suit against an Amgen unit just days before trial, saying two of the company's mouse antibody patents are indefinite based on a term that "everyone agrees" is "nonsensical."

  • June 04, 2026

    Eli Lilly's 'Overbroad' Weight Drug TM Deal Rejected

    A Washington federal judge has refused to sign off on a deal to settle trademark claims brought by Eli Lilly against two Seattle-area medical clinics, saying the associated consent decree was "overbroad" and contained an even more sweeping injunction.

  • June 04, 2026

    Doctor Lied About Risky 'Basket Weave' Surgery, Patients Say

    Six patients accused a Seattle doctor of overstating his "basket weave" surgery technique meant to treat a painful condition known as "slipping rib syndrome," claiming in a Washington state lawsuit that Dr. Madhankumar Kuppusamy failed to disclose the experimental nature of the procedure that left some patients with serious injuries.

  • June 04, 2026

    Legislative Update: Cannabis And Psychedelics Bill Roundup

    New York lawmakers gave final approval to legislation designed to curb the flow of illicit product into the state's cannabis market; Iowa's governor signed into law a bill to double the number of licensed medical cannabis dispensaries; and Louisiana legislation allowing terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana became law. Here are the major moves in cannabis and psychedelics legislation from the past week.

  • June 04, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Invalidates Spinal Implant Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday invalidated patent claims covering parts used to make expandable implant devices in spinal fusion surgeries that were the basis of a $9.5 million jury verdict against Life Spine Inc. and that had been upheld by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • June 04, 2026

    Judge Questions Fees In Abbott Investors' $40M Formula Deal

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to most of Abbott Laboratories' $40 million deal to resolve shareholder claims over its management of a 2022 infant formula crisis, but questioned whether the settlement's corporate reforms justify a $15 million fee award for the investors' attorneys.

  • June 04, 2026

    Inotiv Gets Cash Access To Pursue Ch. 11 Prepack Track

    Bankrupt drug research and development company Inotiv Inc. received interim approval on Thursday to access a $25 million bankruptcy loan as it pursues a prepackaged balance sheet restructuring in Texas court.

  • June 04, 2026

    Catalent Investors Say No Objections To $78M Deal, Fee Bid

    Investors seeking final approval of a $78 million securities fraud settlement with Catalent told a New Jersey federal court that the proposed deal and fee bid are free of objections, arguing the positive response further supports the court's approval of the settlement.

  • June 04, 2026

    US Middle Market PE Surge Expected After Strong 2025

    U.S. middle market private equity dealmakers are signaling renewed optimism, with the vast majority expecting a meaningful jump in buyout activity over the next two years after a robust 2025, according to survey results published on Thursday. 

  • June 04, 2026

    Supreme Court Shuts Down 'Skinny Label' Drug Patent Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ended a patent suit over Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.'s generic version of a heart drug that uses a so-called skinny label, saying Amarin Pharma Inc. had not plausibly alleged that Hikma encouraged healthcare providers to infringe its patents.

  • June 03, 2026

    AbbVie Loses Miss. Discount Drug Law Challenge For Good

    A Mississippi federal judge on Wednesday threw out a suit brought by AbbVie and other pharmaceutical manufacturers that participate in Medicaid challenging a law barring their interference with the distribution of discounted prescriptions to pharmacies serving low-income patients.

  • June 03, 2026

    Medtronic Unit Must Face Bellwether Hernia Mesh Claims

    A Massachusetts federal judge has largely cleared the way for bellwether claims in multidistrict litigation over Covidien's hernia mesh, finding that a reasonable jury could find the Medtronic subsidiary failed to adequately warn physicians about certain risks.

  • June 03, 2026

    Balwani Takes Theranos Conviction Challenge To Justices

    Former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his criminal fraud conviction and nearly 13-year prison sentence, arguing that the Ninth Circuit used the wrong review doctrine in rejecting his argument that prosecutors had failed to correct allegedly false testimony given by investor victims.

  • June 03, 2026

    'This Is Their Document': Jury Told J&J Docs Prove Talc Lies

    Counsel for the families of three women who died of ovarian cancer delivered closing arguments Wednesday in their six-week-long bellwether lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, telling jurors that decades-old internal documents prove the company hid that its talc was contaminated with asbestos.

  • June 03, 2026

    Squires Institutes 3 Patent Reviews, Denies 3 Others

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires on Tuesday granted three requests for review of patents under the America Invents Act, while turning down three other petitions.

  • June 03, 2026

    Ill. Court Blocks Fla. Suit Targeting Gender Care Policies

    An Illinois federal judge blocked the Florida attorney general's lawsuit targeting medical groups' policies on youth gender-affirming care, saying there's sufficient jurisdiction over Sunshine State officials because of a potential nationwide chilling effect the enforcement action caused.

  • June 03, 2026

    Trans Youth Sue NYU Langone, DOJ To Bar Records Release

    A group of transgender minors and young adults who received gender dysphoria care at NYU Langone urged a New York federal court to bar the U.S. Department of Justice from accessing their sensitive health records through a criminal subpoena.

  • June 03, 2026

    Purdue Pharma Heir Sues Son Over Sackler Matriarch's Estate

    Former Purdue Pharma LP President Richard Sackler has appealed a Connecticut probate court decision favoring his son David Sackler in a dispute over his mother Beverly Sackler's estate, saying a judge ignored self-dealing rules when approving his son's request to assign trust interests to a public charity.

  • June 03, 2026

    BigLaw Insider Trading Defendants Have Big-Name Legal Help

    An insider trading case involving nonpublic information prosecutors say was stolen from some of the largest law firms in the U.S. has ensnared more than two dozen defendants, many of whom have turned to lawyers with notable clients including Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein and Luigi Mangione.

  • June 03, 2026

    1st Circ. Panel Seems Poised To Uphold RI Drug Pricing Law

    The majority of a First Circuit panel seemed unlikely Wednesday to upend a Rhode Island law that blocks drug manufacturers from imposing restrictions on healthcare providers and contract pharmacies in a federal prescription drug discount program, appearing unconvinced of an argument that states can't interfere with federal government programs. 

  • June 03, 2026

    Supplier Can't Force Arbitration Of Worker's Wage Suit

    A proposed wage class action against a medical and industrial gas supplier can proceed in court, a Washington federal judge ruled, finding that a former worker's arbitration agreement with a staffing agency did not apply.

  • June 03, 2026

    IVF Patients Say Natera Profited Off Ineffective Embryo Tests

    A proposed class of in vitro fertilization patients are suing Natera Inc. in California federal court, alleging that it falsely advertised the efficacy and importance of its preimplantation genetic testing to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars from patients looking to conceive.

  • June 03, 2026

    Drug Research Co. Inotiv Files Ch. 11 To Cut $325M In Debt

    Contract drug research and development company Inotiv Inc. filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 case Wednesday in Texas bankruptcy court with $489 million of debt and support from the majority of its creditors for its reorganization plan.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Regulatory Gaps May Fuel FCA Enforcement Action

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    The intersection of artificial intelligence and False Claims Act enforcement presents legal risk for government contractors across several industries, particularly in the absence of a federal regulatory framework explicitly governing its development and use, say attorneys at O’Melveny.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • EPA Listing Signals New Scrutiny Of Drugs In Drinking Water

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    The recent publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest draft drinking water contaminant list highlights pharmaceuticals as a category of concern, marking the start of a process that could shape future research priorities, monitoring requirements, and federal and state actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Del. Courts Will Likely Evaluate AI Oversight Claims

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    While no Delaware court has thus far adjudicated a claim based on alleged board failures to oversee artificial intelligence risk, recent Court of Chancery decisions suggest that familiar Caremark principles will be applied in predictable but consequential ways, particularly when AI touches mission‑critical operations, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Opinion

    5th Circ.'s Abortion Pill Order Is Shaky On Multiple Grounds

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent order in Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone, seems to turn federalism upside-down, and is also questionable for several other reasons, says Gregory Curtner at Curtner Law.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Opinion

    USPTO Must Address The Right Question In Sanofi Case

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appeals Review Panel's questions in Ex parte Baurin indicate recognition of broader doctrinal issues, but rather than approaching from separate angles, the panel should concentrate on a single fundamental question about obviousness-type double patenting, says Jeremy Lowe at Spencer Fane.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • What Justices Are Focusing On In 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

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    Though Hikma v. Amarin appears to be a patent dispute that could reshape inducement doctrine in the pharmaceutical context, oral argument suggests the U.S. Supreme Court may treat this as primarily a pleading-stage dispute, with important unresolved questions lurking beneath the surface, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

  • Accelerated Psychedelic Therapy Pathways Require Caution

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aiming to accelerate the approval of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental health disorders will likely bolster investigational psychedelic therapies, but parties within the psychedelic product supply chain will still need to prepare for potentially burdensome compliance requirements, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

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