Life Sciences

  • June 06, 2024

    Abbott Labs Must Face Bulk Of Glucerna False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge won't free Abbott Laboratories from a proposed class action over its Glucerna shakes, saying the complaint plausibly alleges that the labeling would mislead consumers about the health aspects of the drinks.

  • June 06, 2024

    Biote Investors Sue Cooley, SPAC After Huge Merger Loss

    Family trust investors in Biote Corp. have sued Cooley LLP and the "hormone optimization" company's top brass over the $700 million merger Biote completed with a special purpose acquisition company, saying the deal was a "disastrous transaction to divert approximately $70 million of merger consideration to themselves and gain control of an enterprise they did not build."

  • June 06, 2024

    Law Firm Says Axe 'Draconian' J&J Subpoena In Talc Claim

    A Mississippi plaintiffs firm urged a New Jersey federal court on Thursday to quash a subpoena served by Johnson & Johnson requesting that the firm turn over documents related to litigation funding and its communication with media outlets, calling the subpoena "draconian" and improper as the firm is not a party to the pharmaceutical giant's current personal injury litigation surrounding its talcum powder products.

  • June 06, 2024

    'Brussels Effect' Of EU's AI Act Is Uncertain, Legal Pros Say

    BigLaw attorneys advising international clients on the European Union's AI Act tell Law360 there are significant uncertainties over vague terms in the 458-page statute, how its steep eight-figure fines will be enforced, and whether it will set a new standard globally as part of the "Brussels effect."

  • June 06, 2024

    Pharma Co. Should Get Hungarian Rebate, ECJ Adviser Says

    Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's mandatory payments into the Hungarian health system should reduce the company's tax base for value-added tax payments, an adviser to the European Union's highest court said Thursday. 

  • June 05, 2024

    USPTO Fee Hike Finds Ally In Google, But Others Have Gripes

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's plan to increase many patent-related fees beginning next year has received support from Google, but dozens of other comments came from patent litigators of all stripes who argue that the proposal is a bad idea.

  • June 05, 2024

    AI Co., Biotech Prep IPOs Worth $602M As Novelis Delays

    Healthcare data artificial intelligence platform Tempus AI and Australian biotech Telix Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday unveiled plans for initial public offerings that will aim to raise a combined total of approximately $602 million, while sustainable aluminum solutions provider Novelis, a day prior, postponed IPO plans due to market conditions.

  • June 05, 2024

    Medtronic Can't Pause FCA Claims For 1st Circ. Detour

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday declined to pause a long-pending False Claims Act and whistleblower retaliation case against medical device maker Medtronic so it can appeal a recent ruling, saying the court and the parties need to "get it moving."

  • June 05, 2024

    McDermott Lands King & Spalding White Collar Pro In Atlanta

    Global law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP has added a King & Spalding LLP partner in Atlanta, a white-collar defense lawyer and civil litigator who has advised clients in healthcare, life sciences and e-commerce.

  • June 05, 2024

    Pinsent Mason Guides Lab Services Biz On £11M Fundraise

    Angle PLC said Wednesday it has successfully raised gross proceeds of approximately £8.8 million ($11 million) by issuing shares to investors in a targeted £11 million fundraising exercise advised by Pinsent Masons LLP.  

  • June 05, 2024

    AstraZeneca Completes $2.4B Deal To Buy Pharma Co. Fusion

    Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Wednesday that it has bought Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Canadian company that specializes in oncology, for $2.4 billion in cash to bolster its range of cancer treatments.

  • June 04, 2024

    Judiciary Panel Clears 1st MDL Rule, Eyes 'Mouthpiece' Amici

    Top rulemaking gatekeepers for the federal judiciary Tuesday capped off seven years of strife in the defense and plaintiffs bars by backing a milestone measure aimed at optimizing multidistrict litigation, and then promptly greenlighted an entirely different war of words over new efforts to ferret out amicus briefs from "paid mouthpieces" masquerading as independent experts.

  • June 04, 2024

    Insulin Pens Exposed Patients To Disease, Hospital Says

    A Connecticut-based hospital says medical device manufacturer Novo Nordisk should be on the hook for a $1 million settlement the hospital paid to end claims that patients were exposed to blood-borne infections because of the medical staff's use of Novo Nordisk's product.

  • June 04, 2024

    Biotech RenovaCare Can't Beat Investors' Stock Promo Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has ruled that investors in biotechnology company RenovaCare Inc. failed to prove their case against firms they accused of profiting from a scheme to pump up the company's shares, but otherwise allowed their claims to proceed against the maker of skin burn treatments and a few of its executives.

  • June 04, 2024

    Chinese Fund Asks To Nix Doc Bid In $830M Transaction Row

    A Chinese healthcare investment fund has asked a New York federal court to toss a Hong Kong medical fund's subpoena request seeking information in a foreign case stemming from a stymied $830 million transaction, saying the discovery bid isn't allowed for the private arbitration.

  • June 04, 2024

    FDA Advisers Rebuff Bid To Treat PTSD With MDMA

    A panel of public health experts on Tuesday dealt a blow to a historic effort to regulate MDMA therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, saying although the positive effects shown in clinical trials are promising, the proposal was hindered by too many confounding factors.

  • June 04, 2024

    Zantac Suits Belong In Conn. State Court, Cancer Patients Say

    Lawsuits claiming Zantac and its generic equivalents caused cancer belong in Connecticut state court, two groups of Constitution State cancer patients and their estates say, arguing against several drugmakers' assertions that they can't be sued in the state on innovator and warning label liability claims.

  • June 04, 2024

    Pharma Cos. Tell Justices Feds Support Remanding Terror Suit

    Pharmaceutical companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to heed the federal government's suggestion to throw out a D.C. Circuit ruling holding them potentially liable for allegedly financing terror attacks against U.S. servicemembers through contracts with the Iraqi government.

  • June 04, 2024

    J&J Owes $260M To Ore. Talc Mesothelioma Patient, Jury Says

    An Oregon state jury has ruled that Johnson & Johnson owes $260 million to a woman who said she developed mesothelioma from breathing in asbestos during daily talcum powder use.

  • June 04, 2024

    Honeywell Manager 'Dismissive' Of Black Employee, Suit Says

    A Black woman who was a global marketing manager for Honeywell International Inc. has accused the conglomerate of using layoffs as a pretext to get rid of her after she filed an internal complaint calling into question her manager's treatment of women and people of color.

  • June 04, 2024

    Illumina Board Puts Grail Spinoff In Motion After EU OK

    Illumina Inc. said Tuesday that its board had approved a spinoff of its cancer detection company following a push by activist heavyweight Carl Icahn and an ultimate order from European authorities to dispose of the asset. 

  • June 04, 2024

    Research Co. Pays Record $35M Fine In Dog Abuse Case

    A clinical research company has agreed to pay a record $35 million fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act as part of a deal to resolve criminal charges stemming from the abuse of beagles that it bred for medical research.

  • June 03, 2024

    Ex-Biopharma Co. Prez Accused Of Defecting With Secrets

    Biopharmaceutical firm United Therapeutics Corp. has accused a former executive of violating an employment agreement by taking ideas to a rival company to develop a competing lung treatment.

  • June 03, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Contempt Sanctions Against Drug Co.

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals' challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's $40 million judgment against it for misrepresenting weight-loss drugs and violating an injunction.

  • June 03, 2024

    Glycine Co. Couldn't Compel Cooperation, Trade Court Told

    The U.S. Department of Commerce wrongly labeled an Indian glycine company as noncooperative after its unaffiliated suppliers declined to participate in a tariff review, the company said in a motion calling to unwind its penalty duty rate Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

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    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    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.

  • Opinion

    J&J Bankruptcy Could Thwart Accountability For Victims

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    Johnson & Johnson's latest attempt at a "Texas Two-Step" bankruptcy proceeding exemplifies the way in which corporate defendants can use bankruptcy to evade accountability, limit resources available to victims, and impose flawed, one-size-fits-all resolutions on diverse groups of plaintiffs, says Michelle Simpson Tuegel at Simpson Tuegel Law.

  • Inside The PTAB's Seagen Cancer Drug Patent Decision

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that Seagen's claims for antibody-drug conjugate technology were unpatentable — for lack of enablement, lack of written description and anticipation — mark the latest chapter in the complex patent dispute as the case heads for director review, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Opinion

    Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation

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    The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reducing The Risk Of PFAS False Advertising Class Actions

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    A wave of class actions continues to pummel products that allegedly contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, with plaintiffs challenging advertising that they say misleads consumers by implying an absence of PFAS — but there are steps companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Opinion

    New Rule 702 Helps Judges Keep Bad Science Out Of Court

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    A court's recent decision to exclude dubious testimony from the plaintiffs' experts in multidistrict litigation over acetaminophen highlights the responsibility that judges have to keep questionable scientific evidence out of courtrooms, particularly under recent amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, says Sherman Joyce at the American Tort Reform Association.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Opinion

    Patent Waiver For COVID Meds Would Harm US Biopharma

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    If the Biden administration backs the World Trade Organization in waiving patent rights on COVID-19 treatments, it would negatively affect the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry and help foreign competitors, without necessarily expanding global access to COVID-19 care, says clinical pathologist Wolfgang Klietmann.

  • Skirting Anti-Kickback Causation Standard Amid Circuit Split

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    Amid the federal circuit court split over the causation standard applicable to False Claims Act cases involving Anti-Kickback Statute violations, which the First Circuit will soon consider in U.S. v. Regeneron, litigators aiming to circumvent the heightened standard should contemplate certain strategies, say Matthew Modafferi and Terence Park at Frier Levitt.

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