Deals & Corporate Governance
-
December 13, 2024
Pharma Co. Brass Face Investor Suit Over Drug Trial Probe
Officers and directors of cancer treatment developer MacroGenics Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative action alleging they breached their fiduciary duties after the company announced three study participant deaths were being probed for a potential connection to the company's therapies.
-
December 13, 2024
What's Left In $400M Skinny Label Row? A Lot, Court Says
A number of key issues remain live in the $400 million fight between Teva Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline over whether the generic-drug maker induced healthcare providers to infringe the brand-name company's heart drug patent, including the availability of a new trial, a Delaware federal judge has said.
-
December 13, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Davis Polk, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Google and TPG Rise Climate partner with Intersect Power, Gen Digital Inc. acquires MoneyLion Inc., Patient Square Capital acquires Patterson Companies Inc., and the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins sell minority ownership shares to private equity firms.
-
December 12, 2024
Medicare Could Lose Billions From 'Patent Abuse,' Group Says
The $6 billion a year Medicare is supposed to save by negotiating drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act is close to the billions of dollars the government could lose due to "patent abuse" by drugmakers, according to a new report by a consumer interest group.
-
December 11, 2024
AADI Enlists NY Court To Enforce Cancer Drug Award
California-based AADI Bioscience Inc. is asking a New York federal court to enforce an arbitral award rejecting a more than $15 million claim asserted by a Hong Kong biopharmaceutical company following a dispute over a deal to market a new cancer drug in China.
-
December 11, 2024
Kirkland-Led Patient Square Pays $4.1B For Animal Health Co.
Healthcare-focused private equity firm Patient Square Capital on Wednesday unveiled plans to acquire and take private dental and animal health distributor Patterson Companies Inc. in a $4.1 billion deal built by several law firms.
-
December 10, 2024
Bristol-Myers Said To Renege On $450M Milestone Promise
Former security holders of a biotechnology company Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired in 2016 hauled the pharmaceutical giant into Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, accusing it of using "patent prosecution sleight of hand" to avoid paying up to $450 million in promised milestone payments related to an autoimmune disorder treatment.
-
December 10, 2024
Judge Won't Cull EpiPen Antitrust Action Against Mylan
Mylan Pharmaceuticals didn't get the early exit it sought from litigation accusing it of working with Pfizer to inflate the price of the latter's popular auto-injecting emergency allergy medication EpiPen, as a Kansas federal judge has ruled the case must move on to discovery.
-
December 10, 2024
Mandarin-Speaking Attys In Demand Amid China Biotech Push
Amid a shift in licensing deals between Chinese and U.S. biotech companies, Mandarin-speaking attorneys with deep experience in the healthcare space are garnering new attention.
-
December 09, 2024
3rd Circ. Affirms NLRB's COVID-19 Bonus Pay Order
The Third Circuit upheld on Monday a National Labor Relations Board decision finding a New Jersey nursing home illegally cut or stopped COVID-19 bonuses for unionized workers, supporting the board's assertion that the bonuses were hazard pay that the company was required to negotiate with the union.
-
December 09, 2024
NC Attorney General Cans Counterclaims In HCA Hospital Suit
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has immunity from counterclaims brought by HCA Healthcare in an enforcement suit centered on the for-profit health network's actions since purchasing an Asheville hospital five years ago, a state Business Court judge has ruled.
-
December 06, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Gibson Dunn
In this week's Taxation With Representation, BlackRock buys HPS Investment Partners, TreeHouse Foods Inc. buys Harris Tea, Aya Healthcare acquires Cross Country Healthcare, and Bruin Capital launches a soccer representation business.
-
December 05, 2024
Providers' $2.8B BCBS Antitrust Deal Gets Judge's Initial OK
An Alabama federal judge has given his initial approval for a $2.8 billion settlement inked between Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and a proposed class of medical providers in a more than 12-year-old antitrust case targeting association rules.
-
December 06, 2024
FINRA Fines Firm $900K Over SPAC Underwriting Fee Issues
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined New York-based LifeSci Capital LLC nearly $1 million over claims that it received and failed to disclose unfair and unreasonable fees for an initial public offering it underwrote.
-
December 04, 2024
Withers IP Partners Hop To Sullivan & Worcester
Sullivan & Worcester LLP has said the Boston firm picked up a team of five intellectual property lawyers, including two partners, from Withers who have expertise in filing patents and working on deals for biotech startups.
-
December 04, 2024
Aya Healthcare Buys Fla. Peer Cross Country In $615M Deal
Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare, steered by Procopio, will acquire Davis Polk & Wardwell-guided Cross Country Healthcare in an $18.61-per-share cash transaction worth roughly $615 million that will take the company private, according to a Wednesday statement.
-
December 04, 2024
Fed. Circ. Judge Condemns 'Nonsense' Law In Antibody Fight
U.S. Circuit Judge Todd Hughes called the Federal Circuit's case law on interpreting preambles in patent claims "nonsense" on Wednesday, expressing frustration as a panel tried to work through whether Xencor Inc.'s antibody patent application was too broad.
-
December 03, 2024
US Claims Court Backs HHS Agency's $20.5M IT Deal Choice
A federal claims court judge has denied a protest of a $20.5 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information technology deal, saying an HHS agency reasonably concluded that it had only "some confidence" in a government contractor protester.
-
December 03, 2024
SEC Says Biopharma's Cooperation Helped It Avoid Penalty
A Houston biopharmaceutical company accused of misleading investors about the regulatory status of two cancer drugs agreed to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's action against it on Tuesday without paying a dime, in recognition of what the SEC said was the company's self-reporting and cooperation with investigators.
-
December 03, 2024
9th Circ. Ponders AIDS Generic Drug Reimbursement
A Ninth Circuit panel heard arguments Tuesday on a Seattle pharmacy's dispute with a benefits manager over reimbursements for the generic version of the HIV/AIDS drug Truvada, with one judge asking if the pharmacy was stuck with a lopsided deal, but also questioning if the contract obligated the payments.
-
December 03, 2024
Chancery Orders Revenue Trust For Healthcare Co. 'Poaching'
A home health company formed through secret poaching by an allegedly disloyal former CEO, two officers and two private equities has been ordered to earmark much of its future revenue to a trust for the corporate victims, in a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling that described the subterfuge as "stunning."
-
December 03, 2024
$1B Sandoz Placeholder Bid Needs More Support, Judge Says
A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday said he cannot force Novartis spinoff Sandoz Inc. to set aside a $1 billion litigation placeholder in a generic drug pricing lawsuit without hearing whether the state attorney general can enforce possible orders in other states where the pharmaceutical company keeps assets.
-
December 03, 2024
Vidal Aimed To Put USPTO Rulemaking In The Spotlight
Kathi Vidal's tenure as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been marked by dedication to making the agency's decisions and processes more transparent, attorneys said ahead of her mid-December departure.
-
December 03, 2024
PE-Backed Anesthesia Giant Can't Duck Antitrust Claims
A New York federal judge refused to nix a Syracuse hospital's antitrust damages claims against North America's largest anesthesia provider, finding the alleged multimillion-dollar costs incurred from understaffing and overpayment can be traced to noncompete agreements locking in anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists.
-
December 02, 2024
Investor Alleges Medical Device Co. Misled On FDA Clearance
The executives and directors of dialysis equipment company Outset Medical Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging they allowed the company to market its product without proper clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Expert Analysis
-
Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.
-
ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council
The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.
-
Oregon Law Would Compromise Management Service Orgs
If passed, a proposed Oregon law would materially limit physician corporate practice of medicine structures, causing significant disruption to the provision of medicine and hindering professional corporations' ability to focus on the clinical components of their practice, say Christina Bergeron and William Shefelman at Ropes & Gray.
-
The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
-
Navigating New Regulations In Healthcare And Other M&A
While notice requirements recently enacted in several states are focused on the healthcare industry for now, this trend could extend to other industries as these requirements are designed to allow regulators to be a step ahead and learn more about a transaction long before it occurs, say Kathleen Premo and Ashley Creech at Epstein Becker.
-
New CMS Rule Will Change Nursing Facility Disclosures
A new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services significantly expands disclosure requirements for nursing facilities backed by private equity companies or real estate investment trusts, likely foreshadowing increased oversight that could include more targeted audits, say Janice Davis and Christopher Ronne at Morgan Lewis.
-
Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges
Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.
-
How Biotech Cos. Can Utilize Synthetic Royalty Financing
Synthetic royalty transactions have been on the rise as a funding structure for biotechnology companies, but questions have arisen surrounding how such transactions work, and structuring them correctly requires a nuanced understanding, say Todd Trattner and Ryan Murr at Gibson Dunn.
-
How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View
The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.
-
Notes Of Interest From 5th Circ. Illumina-Grail Merger Ruling
Attorneys at Simpson Thacher consider the Fifth Circuit's recent decision upholding the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of the Illumina merger with Grail, its much-needed boost to the Biden administration's antitrust agenda, and some silver linings the decision offers to merging parties.
-
A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures
In the current environment of heightened antitrust enforcement, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act seems tailor-made for the collaborative work among competitors encouraged by the Biden administration's infrastructure and green energy funding legislation, say Jeetander Dulani and Susan Ebner at Stinson.
-
Financing Healthcare Deals In Uncertain Markets This Year
As challenges to closing and financing new deals prevail into 2024, lenders in new healthcare transactions are talking about alternative approaches for sponsors to consider, such as private credit alternatives and utilization of junior capital, say attorneys at McDermott.
-
A Primer On New Calif. Health Transaction Reporting Rules
New California regulations regarding the reporting of certain transactions involving healthcare entities, which took effect on Jan. 1, address some industry feedback about overly broad requirements but still leave several areas of concern, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.