Deals & Corporate Governance

  • March 18, 2024

    Pfizer To Reduce Stake In Haleon To 24% Through Share Sale

    Haleon PLC said Monday that U.S. pharmaceutical titan Pfizer Inc. will reduce its stake in the British consumer healthcare company to 24%.

  • March 15, 2024

    'Cobra Venom' Painkiller Co. Inks Deal To Settle SEC Claims

    A penny stock company that previously held itself out as a maker of cobra venom-infused pain drugs has agreed to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud claims, according to court filings that note the company's two principals have also reached a settlement.

  • March 15, 2024

    Hospitals Say Constitutional Defenses Valid In FTC Merger Row

    Two North Carolina hospital systems shot back at the Federal Trade Commission's contention that constitutional defenses are immaterial to the agency's challenge of a $320 million merger plan, arguing that case law shows that striking the positions would be premature.

  • March 14, 2024

    Clinicians May Continue Kickback Suit Vs. Mental Health Co.

    A mental healthcare company can't dodge a suit claiming that it implemented a kickback scheme to pay its clinicians that led to unpaid wages, an Arizona federal judge ruled, saying the workers suing the organization supported their claims.

  • March 14, 2024

    PE-Backed Latin American Healthcare Firm Prices $420M IPO

    Private equity-backed Latin American hospital operator Auna SA on Thursday set a price range on an estimated $420 million U.S. initial public offering, with plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and financing agreements.

  • March 14, 2024

    Drug Wholesalers Want Preliminary OK On $265M Sandoz Deal

    A group of direct purchasers of generic drugs has asked a Pennsylvania federal court for approval of a $265 million settlement with Swiss drugmaker Sandoz over allegations of federal antitrust violations.

  • March 13, 2024

    TriZetto's $200M Jury Awards Thrown Out In Syntel Dispute

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday vacated roughly $200 million in damages awards Cognizant affiliate TriZetto won in a trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement suit against Syntel, ruling that the awards were improperly calculated.

  • March 13, 2024

    Hospital Operator Defends Releases In Ch. 11 Plan

    California-based hospital operator Alecto Healthcare Services LLC asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday to approve its small business Chapter 11 reorganization, saying it is not leaving money on the table by releasing potential clawback claims.

  • March 13, 2024

    Moderna's CLO Saw Growth In 2023 Compensation

    Moderna Inc.'s top attorney earned about $4.3 million in total compensation last year, an increase compared to 2022 but a steep drop from the near $11.5 million she saw in 2021, according to a recent securities filing.

  • March 12, 2024

    Breast Implant Co.'s $90M DIP OK'd With Creditor Protections

    Bankrupt breast implant maker Sientra Inc. received final court approval in Delaware bankruptcy court for its $90 million debtor-in-possession financing after adding in lien challenge protections for unsecured creditors.

  • March 12, 2024

    UnitedHealth Can't Get Early Win In Workers' ERISA Suit

    A Minnesota federal court denied most of UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s bid for a pretrial win in a lawsuit alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan, finding Tuesday that allegations the company refused to ax underperforming funds to preserve a business relationship with Wells Fargo should go to trial.

  • March 11, 2024

    Acadia Investors Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Parkinson's Drug

    A California federal judge on Monday certified a class of Acadia Pharmaceuticals investors in a lawsuit accusing the company of making false and misleading statements regarding the likelihood that its Parkinson's psychosis drug would also be approved for the broader use of dementia-related psychosis.

  • March 11, 2024

    Illumina Brass Faces Shareholder Suit Over Grail Deal Debacle

    Current and former directors and executives of Illumina, including former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court over their role in the biotech company's failed $8 billion deal to reacquire its cancer-detection company Grail Inc.

  • March 11, 2024

    Judge OKs Eye Care Tech Co.'s $8M DIP Request

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday approved optometry software company Eye Care Leaders Portfolio Holdings LLC's request to draw on the remainder of its $8 million in debtor-in-possession funds for its Chapter 11 case, saying the company had given good reason to believe it was poised for a rewarding auction.

  • March 11, 2024

    Walmart Fails To Sink Feds' Opioid Crisis Lawsuit

    A Delaware federal judge on Monday kept alive a government lawsuit accusing Walmart of fueling the nation's opioid crisis, ruling that the company could be held liable for filling illegitimate prescriptions its compliance officers allegedly failed to flag for unwitting pharmacists.

  • March 08, 2024

    Deadline Drama Briefly Threatens Suit Against Insurer VSP

    A California federal judge threatened Thursday to toss Total Vision's antitrust claims accusing eye care insurance giant VSP of hamstringing it, in what appears to be a misreading of the schedule over missed deadlines that were actually pushed back, prompting the threat's retraction the next day.

  • March 08, 2024

    UK Enforcers To Appeal Nixed £100M Hydrocortisone Fine

    Britain's competition enforcer is planning to appeal a tribunal's ruling that upended more than £100 million ($128.6 million) in fines against several drug companies for allegedly reaching agreements that increased the price of hydrocortisone tablets.

  • March 08, 2024

    Sorrento Gets OK For $2M Ch. 11 Funding Infusion, Asset Sale

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Friday approved drug developer Sorrento Therapeutics Inc.'s bid for an asset sale and $2 million in funds to fuel its Chapter 11 case, saying they represented the only option outside of a transition to Chapter 7.

  • March 08, 2024

    Pa. Court Grants Seizure Of Nursing Homes In 'Dire' Condition

    A Pennsylvania federal court has granted an emergency request for a receiver to take control of six nursing homes in the state that Revere Tactical Opportunities REIT LLC claims were left in a "dire financial condition" by the properties' owners, who had also allegedly defaulted on a $30 million loan.

  • March 07, 2024

    Harpoon Shareholder Sues For Records On $680M Merck Buy

    A shareholder of Harpoon Therapeutics Inc. sued in Delaware's Court of Chancery Thursday for corporate documents related to the company's proposed $680 million cash buyout by Merck, saying the proposed deal appears to unfairly "lock in a windfall for select Harpoon investors."

  • March 07, 2024

    Activist Caligan Sets Sights On Anika Therapeutics Again

    New York-based activist investor Caligan Partners LP disclosed a nearly 10% stake in Anika Therapeutics and nominated two director candidates, a move that comes a year after the hedge fund urged the biotech company to consider "urgent changes" to its operations and structure.

  • March 06, 2024

    J&J Seeks Exit From Suit Over Stelara Exclusivity

    Johnson & Johnson told a Virginia federal court Tuesday it shouldn't have to face a proposed class action claiming it has been trying to stifle competition in the market for the immunosuppressive drug Stelara, saying there was no "scheme" to enforce its patents as the suit alleges.

  • March 06, 2024

    FTC Can Depose Hospitals' Execs In Merger Challenge

    A North Carolina federal magistrate judge has overruled two hospital systems' objections to the depositions of six Novant Health employees by the Federal Trade Commission in its antitrust action against a proposed $320 million merger, rejecting the healthcare providers' arguments that such depositions would be duplicative.

  • March 06, 2024

    Biopharmaceutical Biz Closes $259M Upsized Funding Round

    South San Francisco, California-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Alumis Inc. on Wednesday announced that it closed its upsized Series C funding round after securing $259 million from venture capital investors.

  • March 06, 2024

    Rite Aid Aims To Divest Most Of Its Health Dialog Business

    Bankrupt drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. said Wednesday that it will sell most of its Health Dialog business, which provides personalized health services, to Carenet Health for an undisclosed amount.

Expert Analysis

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Revalidation Unlikely To End NIH Tech-Deal Bid Protest Saga

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    Recent U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions requiring the National Institutes of Health to again rework a $50 billion information technology contract probably won't result in an award for many protesters, and the corrective action will likely be followed by more protests, say James Tucker and Damien Specht at MoFo.

  • Colorado Antitrust Reform Carries Broad State Impact

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    Colorado recently became the latest state to update and expand its antitrust laws, and the new act may significantly affect enforcement and private litigation, particularly when it comes to workers and consumers, says Diane Hazel at Foley & Lardner.

  • Parsing Through The FTC's Proposed Health Privacy Updates

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed updates to its Health Breach Notification Rule contain subtle but significant changes to key terms that help modernize the agency's health app regulation and provide stakeholders an important opportunity to help shape the future of virtual health care, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Merger Guidelines Should Provide For Competition Trustees

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    Following the U.S. antitrust agencies' release of draft merger guidelines, retired U.S. Court of Federal Claims Chief Judge Susan Braden suggests a court-appointed competition trustee would help ensure U.S. competition without impairing economic prosperity.

  • Indivior Ruling May Affect Rebate Wall Litigation

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    A New Jersey federal court's recent decision in Indivior v. Alvogen, in which a claim that an alleged rebate wall anti-competitively blocked generic competition survived summary judgment, may provide a blueprint for successfully challenging other drug rebating practices, say Peter Herrick and Monsura Sirajee at O'Melveny.

  • Merger Guidelines' Broad Tack Ignores Recent Precedent

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    The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission's new proposed merger guidelines are consistent with the Biden administration's expansive approach to antitrust enforcement, but they fail to grapple meaningfully with much of modern economic precedent and court decisions requiring greater agency rigor in merger analysis, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • What's New In The DOJ-FTC Proposed Merger Guidelines

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    While this week's merger guidelines proposal from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice initially appears to reflect well-established principles of antitrust law, a closer examination reveals a stark departure from the last 40 years of antitrust enforcement, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Tide May Be Turning On Texas Two-Step Bankruptcy Strategy

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    Recent developments in several high-profile bankruptcy cases suggest that the use of the Texas Two-Step to shield solvent companies from tort claims may be falling out of favor, but until the U.S. Supreme Court hears one of these cases the strategy will remain divisive and the subject of increased scrutiny, say attorneys at Rivkin Radler.