Life Sciences

Expert Analysis

• Considering Disclosure Risks In Sensitive Product Recalls

  

  The New York Supreme Court's recent decision in Otsuka America v. Crum & Forster highlights the balancing act between comprehensive disclosures during product recall efforts and the use of those communications in subsequent insurance or personal injury lawsuits, say Syed Ahmad and Geoffrey Fehling of Hunton.

• Fed. Circ.'s Arduous Legal Landscape For Diagnostic Patents

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent opinion in Genetic Veterinary Sciences v. Laboklin continues the trend of invalidating claims to diagnostic inventions as being directed to patent-ineligible natural phenomena, and it highlights the challenges facing innovators attempting to protect such inventions, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Class Settlements And The Risks Of Viral Media Attention

  

  When class settlements go viral — increasingly as a result of websites that promote settlement payouts — companies face extreme losses that could exceed reserves and available cash on hand. But there are several considerations that may help minimize this risk, says Kevin Skrzysowski at Risk Settlements.

• Crisis Messaging To Protect Law Firm Brand And Bottom Line

  

  When crises occur, such as data security incidents or gender bias suits, a well-prepared law firm has a thoroughly tested communications plan at the ready, which ensures the firm is the most proactive news source, prevents the crisis from escalating and notifies stakeholders about mitigation efforts, says Zach Olsen at Infinite Global.

• New Compliance Steps For Filing Drug Co. Settlements

  

  Starting this summer, settlements between innovators and generics submitted to the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act must be filed online, and other new filing requirements are quite broad, say Melanie Rupert and Alexander Plushanski of Paul Hastings.

• Perspectives

  What You Should Know About Courtroom Closures

  

  At attorney Greg Craig’s trial in D.C. federal court this week, the courtroom was cleared so prospective jurors could answer sensitive questions. Even seasoned litigators were left wondering about the nature of this subtle, yet significant, issue involving Sixth Amendment public trial rights, says Luke Cass at Quarles & Brady.

• The Outlook On Drug Pricing And Surprise Billing In Congress

  

  Recent months have seen a flurry of activity in Congress on prescription drug pricing and surprise medical bills, and additional developments are expected in September, including possible floor action, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• Protecting Medical Method Patents Via Indirect Infringement

  

  While medical method claims are often omitted from patents, they remain a powerful tool for protecting an invention under legal theories of indirect infringement, and recent case law supports this strategy, say Joey Moussa and Doug Portnow of Schwegman Lundberg.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: A Seaweed Scientist's Odyssey

  

  In the early 1980s, I was working on my Ph.D. in marine biology and ecology. As part of an international team of scientists studying oil spill impacts on marine ecosystems, I saw a niche opportunity to combine science and law, says Andrew Davis of Shipman & Goodwin.

• DOJ Enforcement Insights From Poultry Price-Fixing Case

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice recently stayed the discovery process in the broiler chicken antitrust litigation in order to pursue a criminal investigation over the next six months. The potential crackdown on U.S. poultry companies demonstrates changing DOJ antitrust enforcement priorities, says Bill Dillon of Taylor English.

• Patent Opportunities In FDA Bispecific Antibody Guidance

  

  Based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent guidance on bispecific antibody products, companies may consider aligning their patent strategy with three issues in order to acquire a competitive advantage, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• How To Counter Jury Reliance On Plaintiff's Damages Ask

  

  Years of interviewing jurors and observing deliberation show that the amount juries award in damages is almost always influenced by the amount of the plaintiff's demand, but there are three ways defense counsel can combat this anchoring effect, says Christina Marinakis at Litigation Insights.

• 3 Best Practices For Patent Claims Against Secret Methods

  

  Recent cases from a Florida federal court and the Federal Circuit counsel recommended approaches for conducting a prefiling inquiry before asserting infringement of a process patent where the potentially infringing process is unknown in order to comply with the reasonable inquiry requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, say Daniel Margolis and Linnea Cipriano of Goodwin.

• Athenex Ruling Helps Clarify FDA Drug Compounding Policy

  

  The D.C. federal court's recent decision in Athenex Pharma Solutions v. Azar gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a green light to review and exclude more substances from compounding under Section 503B of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• Using Global Dossier To Simplify USPTO Disclosure Duty

  

  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can make compliance with its duty of disclosure less burdensome by allowing applicants to submit a list of patent families that are believed to have material information and defining electronically available records broadly to include the Global Dossier, whose use the USPTO recently encouraged, says Brian Dorini of InterDigital CE Holdings.