Deals & Corporate Governance
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April 07, 2025
NC Doctors Say Fee-Sharing Row Resulted In Pay Cuts
A group of North Carolina anesthesiologists accused their business partners of slashing their monthly compensation in half in retaliation against them for questioning a proposed fee-sharing arrangement, saying the cut allegedly violated the doctors' contracts and breached the partners' fiduciary duty.
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April 03, 2025
Compounders Say Shortage Of Weight Loss Drug Continues
A group of compounding pharmacies looking to keep producing copycat doses of Eli Lilly & Co's lucrative weight loss drug tirzepatide are telling a Texas federal judge that demand for the drug has "far outpaced" supply despite the Food and Drug Administration declaring the medication's shortage over last year, a move that removed their right to make compounded versions.
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April 03, 2025
Amazon, Biotech Net $1.9M Win Against Fake Supplement Sellers
A Washington federal judge has awarded biotechnology company Quincy Biosciences and Amazon a combined total of $1,895,375.40 in default judgments against several individuals who hawked counterfeit Prevagen brain health products through Amazon's marketplace, after the sellers failed to appear or participate in the case.
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April 02, 2025
Serial Acquisitions Are Still On The FTC's Radar
The previous administration's focus on private equity firms making serial acquisitions in the same industry may continue under the Federal Trade Commission's new leadership, an agency official said Wednesday.
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April 02, 2025
PE Firm TPG Wants Endo Trust's Transfer Suit Tossed
Private equity firm TPG Capital is seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit that aims to claw back billions of dollars reaped in an allegedly unfair deal with Endo International PLC before the drugmaker went bankrupt.
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April 02, 2025
Healthcare REIT Lands $140M Senior Living Mortgage Loan
Diversified Healthcare Trust borrowed a three-year, nonrecourse $140 million loan secured by a portfolio of senior living communities, the healthcare-focused real estate investment trust announced.
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April 01, 2025
Two More Pharmacies Hit With Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug Suits
Eli Lilly and Co. filed another round of lawsuits Tuesday accusing compounding pharmacies of selling copycat versions of its weight loss and diabetes medications, saying in New Jersey and Delaware federal courts that two online pharmacies are deceiving consumers about their knockoff products.
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April 01, 2025
Forecast For Health Startups Shows Bright Spots Amid Gloom
Raising investor cash has been challenging for earlier-stage healthcare and life sciences startups over the past few years. But a smattering of private startups in recent weeks has shown that fundraising is still possible despite tough circumstances.
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April 01, 2025
FDA Cuts Prompt Biotech Players To Rethink Deal Strategies
Funding cuts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are sending ripples of concern through the biotech industry, as attorneys advise companies to consider a wider breadth of strategic alternatives amid fears of regulatory delays.
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March 31, 2025
Alcoa Retirees, Unions Win Block On Health Benefits Cutoff
Aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. must provide lifetime healthcare benefits to a group of retirees who were represented by unions, an Indiana federal judge ruled, greenlighting an injunction that allows class members to retroactively seek payments for costs.
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March 31, 2025
Pierson Ferdinand Adds Taylor English Health Pro In Atlanta
Pierson Ferdinand LLP announced Monday that it has hired a former Taylor English Duma LLP partner who specializes in mergers and acquisitions and also has sleep medicine expertise to strengthen its healthcare practice.
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March 28, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Norton Rose, Latham, Ashurst
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Dollar Tree sells its Family Dollar business to private equity firms, eye care company Alcon buys medical technology company Lensar and Ithaca Energy PLC buys the U.K. subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.
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March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
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March 26, 2025
7 Firms Compete To Lead Novo Nordisk Securities Suit
Levi & Korsinsky LLP, Pomerantz LLP and the Rosen Law Firm PA are among seven law firms vying to lead proposed class claims accusing Novo Nordisk A/S of misleading investors about a clinical trial for an obesity drug.
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March 26, 2025
Ex-CEO Says McGuireWoods Can't Rehash Immunity Appeal
McGuireWoods LLP and one of its former partners are rehashing immunity defenses in a last-ditch effort to dodge a long-running defamation case, the former CEO of a managed care organization told the North Carolina Court of Appeals in seeking to have the case kicked back down to the trial court.
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March 25, 2025
Healthcare Deals This Week: Merck, J&J And Startups Galore
It's been a busy week for healthcare. Several Big Pharma players inked licensing deals in areas like cardiology and cancer and others said they would up their U.S. manufacturing investments, continuing a growing trend for companies in the space.
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March 25, 2025
Pension Seeks To Opt Class Out Of Cutera Ch. 11 Releases
A pension fund heading up a class action against skin care technology group Cutera has urged a Texas bankruptcy court to find the shareholder has authority to opt all class members out of the company's Chapter 11 plan.
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March 25, 2025
Crowell & Moring Healthcare Vet Jumps To Sheppard Mullin
A longtime Crowell & Moring LLP partner has moved his healthcare-focused practice to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP's office in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Tuesday.
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March 25, 2025
Merck Betting Up To $2B On China-Developed Cardio Drug
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc., advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Covington & Burling LLP, said on Tuesday it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Cooley LLP-led pharmaceutical company Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. under which Merck will pay up to nearly $2 billion to the Chinese pharmaceutical business.
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March 25, 2025
Meitar-Led Navina Wraps $55M Series C Funding Round
Artificial intelligence-powered clinical intelligence company Navina, advised by Meitar, announced on Tuesday that it clinched a $55 million Series C funding round, bringing its total amount raised to $100 million.
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March 25, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Rehear Drug Price-Fixing Class Action
The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday it will not hold a full court rehearing of its panel decision to back the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing drugmakers of conspiring and inflating the price of a medication for Huntington's disease, a suit the panel called "shaky at best."
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March 24, 2025
Kenvue, J&J Must Face Investor Suit Over FDA Concerns
Consumer health products business Kenvue Inc. and former parent company Johnson & Johnson cannot escape a consolidated lawsuit accusing the companies of failing to warn investors about the potential ineffectiveness of leading products like Tylenol and Sudafed ahead of Kenvue's initial public offering, a New Jersey federal judge ruled on Monday.
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March 24, 2025
Fla. Judge OKs $19.3M In Spinal Products Noncompete Suit
A Florida federal judge approved a $19.3 million judgment against the owner of a distributor and his affiliated companies, finding that he owes damages for breaching an exclusive sales agreement with a spinal products manufacturer in a case with a "tortured history" that lasted for more than six years.
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March 24, 2025
Residents Rip Hospital Co.'s 'Scorched-Earth' Sanctions Bid
A proposed class of Connecticut residents pursuing antitrust claims against Hartford HealthCare Corp. slammed the company's bid to sanction them for seeking judicial enforcement of a document exchange deal the parties had reached, arguing that sanctions would only complicate discovery rather than help it along.
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March 24, 2025
Norton Rose, Latham Steer Alcon's $430M Lensar Buy
Eye care company Alcon, advised by Norton Rose Fulbright, unveiled on Monday an agreement to purchase medical technology developer Lensar, which is represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, for up to $430 million.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny
The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs
A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.
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How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare
Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.
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The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Healthcare's PE Boom
While an influx of capital may provide access to new resources and innovative technologies, the private equity model's method of funding may be fundamentally at odds with patient-first healthcare, and in recent years that inherent tension has gotten ugly, say Eva Gunasekera and Jaclyn Tayabji at Tycko & Zavareei.
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High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.
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After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.
In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.