Deals & Corporate Governance
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February 28, 2025
J&J Talc Spinoff Wraps Two-Week Chapter 11 Trial
A marathon Chapter 11 trial for Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit wrapped up Friday, with attorneys defending the $10 billion plan against competing efforts to toss the Texas bankruptcy.
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February 28, 2025
Bioventus Hit With Del. Derivative Suit After NC Class Deal
A Bioventus Inc. stockholder sued 15 current and former directors and officers of the medical device venture in Delaware's Court of Chancery to recover for the company tens of millions in losses tied to alleged mismanagement and corporate duty failures over a two year period.
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February 28, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Gibson Dunn, Skadden
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Blackstone acquires Safe Harbor Marinas, National Grid sells its green subsidiary in the U.S. to Brookfield, Apollo Global Management buys Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc., and Teleflex splits into two publicly traded companies.
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February 28, 2025
Goodwin, White & Case Build BridgeBio's $949M SPAC Deal
Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, advised by Goodwin Procter LLP, on Friday announced plans to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Helix Acquisition Corp. II, advised by White & Case LLP, in a deal that gives the combined business an implied pro forma enterprise value of $949 million.
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February 27, 2025
4th Circ. Rips 'Shaky At Best' Drug Price-Fixing Class Action
The Fourth Circuit backed the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing drug companies of conspiring to inflate the price of a drug for Huntington's disease, writing in the opinion that the allegations are "shaky at best," "sparsely pleaded" and "stretch civil RICO liability beyond its limits."
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February 27, 2025
Lenders Can't Claim Ex-Mylan VP's $4M Insider Trade Penalty
Lenders who said they were owed money by a former Mylan vice president can't call dibs on any of the $4.3 million he was ordered to forfeit as part of his guilty plea to insider trading since they hadn't shown that they had a better claim to the money than the defendant or the government, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled.
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February 27, 2025
Medical Device Co. Inks €760M Deal, Unveils Separation Plans
Medical device company Teleflex, advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, on Thursday announced that it will split into two separate, publicly traded entities, and that it will acquire Biotronik SE & Co.'s vascular intervention business for €760 million ($791.95 million).
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February 25, 2025
FTC Probing $615M Healthcare Staffing Merger
Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare Inc.'s roughly $615 million bid to buy Cross Country Healthcare Inc. and take the staffing and recruitment company private hit a snag last week with a Federal Trade Commission merger probe that prevents the transaction from closing, for now.
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February 25, 2025
WilmerHale, Cleary Steer $4.1B Thermo Fisher-Solventum Deal
WilmerHale and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP are the principal advisers on a new agreement for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to purchase the purification and filtration business of Solventum for $4.1 billion in cash, according to statements from the companies on Tuesday.
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February 24, 2025
CVC Sells Stake In India Hospital Chain To KKR For $400M
Private equity shop CVC on Monday announced that it has agreed to sell its majority stake in Indian oncology hospital chain Healthcare Global Enterprises to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP-advised KKR for $400 million.
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February 24, 2025
Steward Health Risking Patient Lives At Hospitals, Buyer Says
The buyer of eight Steward Health Care hospitals said the bankrupt company is putting patients' lives at risk by failing to provide funds and services it promised, urging a Texas federal judge to compel Steward to comply with contracts it signed as part of its hospital sales.
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February 24, 2025
Skadden, Ropes & Gray Advising On 23andMe Buyout Bid
The CEO of 23andMe has teamed up with private equity firm New Mountain Capital on an offer to purchase and take the genetic testing company private at an equity value of approximately $74.7 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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February 21, 2025
Trump Blocked From Implementing Anti-DEI Orders, For Now
A Maryland federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from implementing the bulk of his executive orders aiming to slash diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors, ruling that the orders are likely unconstitutionally vague and illegally restrict free speech.
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February 21, 2025
Eli Lilly Has Exclusivity Over Weight Loss Drug, FDA Says
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked a Texas federal court to reject a request for an injunction that would allow compounding pharmacies to produce a lucrative weight loss drug, saying the agency based its decision on sound facts and it was within its authority.
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February 21, 2025
Bank Says Nostrum's Second Investment Banker Unnecessary
Citizens Bank, a creditor of New Jersey drugmaker Nostrum Laboratories Inc., objected to Nostrum's request to retain another investment banker in its Chapter 11 case, arguing that Raymond James is already serving in that role and that the additional $1 million in retention costs provides no "discernible benefit" to the debtor.
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February 19, 2025
Olshan-Led Investor Picks Proxy Fight With Healthcare REIT
Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC, guided by Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, said it nominated two candidates to National Health Investors Inc.'s board of directors on Wednesday, arguing that conflicts of interest plague the real estate investment trust's leadership team.
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February 14, 2025
Digital Health Co. Beats Some Claims In SPAC Investor Suit
A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed, with leave to amend, claims in an investor suit against a blank check company that took digital health equipment venture Butterfly Network Inc. public, finding that some of the shares the plaintiffs purchased are not traceable to the registration statement at issue in the suit.
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February 13, 2025
Mallinckrodt Fails To Halt Airgas' Generic Nitric Oxide Drug
A Delaware federal judge has rejected Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals' attempt to block French industrial gas company Airgas Healthcare from selling a generic version of its inhaled nitric oxide treatment, saying Mallinckrodt didn't show enough evidence that Airgas infringed its patents or that it would suffer irreparable harm.
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February 13, 2025
Paul Hastings, Cooley Lead Obesity-Focused Aardvark's IPO
Obesity-focused Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. began trading Thursday after pricing a $94 million initial public offering at the bottom of its range, represented by Paul Hastings LLP and underwriters' counsel Cooley LLP, joining a string of biotechnology firms to go public recently.
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February 12, 2025
Bausch Health Beats Suit Over 'Faking' Financial Stability
Pharmaceutical company Bausch Health Cos. Inc. and its top brass have beaten, for now, a proposed class action accusing them of misleading shareholders about threats to the company's financial stability, with a New Jersey federal judge finding Wednesday that most of the challenged statements in the complaint are inactionable.
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February 12, 2025
Supply Co. Files Failsafe $387M Suit Amid Threat Of Dismissal
A medical supply procurement company has re-upped claims that a pharmaceutical middleman cut it out of a billion-dollar deal with the U.K. government to sell COVID-19 tests after newly unveiled information threatened to derail the long-running litigation.
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February 11, 2025
Research Org Faces Investor Suit Over Customer Cost-Cutting
Clinical research organization Icon PLC has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in New York federal court, alleging it misled investors about a slowdown in demand the company experienced due to customers implementing drastic cost-reduction measures that involved research and development expenditures.
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February 11, 2025
Fla. Judge OKs $7M Deal In Health Data Breach Class Action
A Florida federal judge Tuesday granted final approval of a $7 million class action settlement as part of multidistrict litigation over the theft of personal information from millions of U.S. citizens in a health data breach linked to a Russian ransomware group.
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February 11, 2025
Novartis To Buy US Pharma Biz Anthos For Up To $3.1B
Novartis AG said Tuesday that it plans to buy Anthos Therapeutics Inc. for up to $3.1 billion, allowing the Swiss pharmaceutical heavyweight to return a drug that originated at the company back into its portfolio of cardiovascular therapies.
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February 10, 2025
Pharma Co. Misled Investors On Depression Drug, Suit Says
Brain disease drugmaker Neumora Therapeutics Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company and its initial public offering underwriters failed to disclose prior to the $250 million IPO that Neumora's clinical trial for a depression treatment was very unlikely to yield promising results.
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The Psychedelics Industry's Hopes And Worries Over RFK Jr.
Last fall, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called out the "aggressive suppression of psychedelics." Many in the industry hope the new HHS head can build momentum for emerging therapies. Others worry his interest will do more harm than good.
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Novo Nordisk Queues Up $830M Suit Over Disappointing Drug
Novo Nordisk is set to initiate an $830 million arbitration claim in New York accusing Singaporean biopharmaceutical company KBP Biosciences of misleading the Danish drugmaker about the potential of a new hypertension drug it subsequently purchased, according to an order from a Singapore court made public on Tuesday.
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Takeaways From This Week's Healthcare Earnings
A host of pharmaceutical companies posted earnings this past week, with executives touching on near term growth plans and potential cost-cutting measures on calls with investors.
Expert Analysis
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Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments
A law recently passed in Massachusetts amends the commonwealth's False Claims Act by dramatically expanding potential liability for private equity firms and investors, underscoring the importance of robust diligence and risk assessments for private equity firms conducting transactions in the commonwealth, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025
Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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2024 IPO Market Trends, And What To Expect Next Year
The initial public offering market returned to historically typical levels on a deal count basis in 2024 but continued to lag based on proceeds raised due to a larger number of smaller IPOs this year, and signs point to continued ongoing momentum in the next year, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Inside The Appeals Board's 2024 Report To Congress
An in-depth examination of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals a continuing decline in new cases, motions and hearings, a trend that may correspond with the increased use of alternative dispute resolution, and expedited or accelerated proceedings, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Expect More State Scrutiny Of PE In Healthcare M&A
While a California bill that called for increased antitrust scrutiny of many healthcare private equity transactions was recently vetoed by the governor, state legislatures are likely to continue introducing similar laws, particularly if the Trump administration eases federal enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Next Steps In The $2.8B Blue Cross Payout To Providers
Healthcare providers deciding whether to participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield network's recent $2.8 billion antitrust class action settlement must weigh key recovery factors, including provider type and litigation cost, say attorneys at Hall Render.
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Fostering Healthcare Industry Success With Joint Ventures
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, joint ventures remain a key strategy to unite health systems, private equity firms and physician practices in leveraging their collective strengths to foster innovation and improve patient care, say Carole Becker and Travis Jackson at McDermott.
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What To Expect From Calif. Bill Regulating PE In Healthcare
A California bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval, intended to increase oversight over private equity and hedge fund investments in healthcare, is emblematic of recent increased scrutiny of investments in the space, and may affect transactions and operations in California in a number of ways, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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SBA Proposal Materially Alters Contractor Recertification
The Small Business Administration's new proposed rule on recertification affects eligibility for set-aside contracts, significantly alters the landscape for mergers and acquisitions in the government contracts industry, and could have other unintended downstream consequences, says Sam Finnerty at PilieroMazza.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.