Life Sciences

  • January 22, 2025

    Pharma Co. Says Ex-CEO's Alleged Misconduct Is Not Fraud

    Artificial intelligence-driven pharmaceutical company Exscientia PLC has asked a New Jersey federal court to toss a suit alleging it is responsible for share price declines following the termination of its CEO after claims emerged he participated in inappropriate relationships with employees, arguing the alleged misconduct is not securities fraud.

  • January 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Ravgen's Genetic Testing Patent

    The Federal Circuit has refused to undo the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's rejection of biotechnology company Streck's challenge to numerous claims in a Ravgen genetic testing patent, which is tied to a $372 million judgment Ravgen won in a separate case against Labcorp.

  • January 22, 2025

    Benzene Suits Against Retailers Not Covered, Insurer Says

    An insurer doesn't have to cover claims that CVS, Walmart, Walgreens and others sold products linked to a carcinogen, benzene, because the customers making the underlying allegations sought only reimbursement for the products they bought, the carrier told a California state court.

  • January 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Express Scripts Generics Dispute

    A Ninth Circuit panel won't renew a suit accusing Express Scripts of shortchanging a Seattle pharmacy on reimbursements for the generic version of HIV/AIDS drug Truvada, finding that only the name-brand prescription was listed in their contract as a "covered specialty medication" entitled to a higher payback rate.  

  • January 22, 2025

    Wyden Urges National Standard For Hemp Regulation

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., rallied on Wednesday for his bill that would beef up regulation of products with hemp-derived cannabinoids in order to protect consumers, particularly children.

  • January 22, 2025

    Cooley-Led Insulin Device Maker Preps $113M IPO

    Insulin delivery system maker Beta Bionics on Wednesday announced the terms for its initial public offering, planning to raise $113 million.

  • January 22, 2025

    Nixed Invitae Asset Buyer Asks Ch. 11 Court To Stop Litigation

    Genetic testing company Natera has launched an adversary lawsuit against Invitae, a competitor that sought insolvency protection last year, asking a New Jersey bankruptcy judge to stop Invitae's Chapter 11 plan administrator from collecting payments owed under a rejected contract.

  • January 21, 2025

    Key Justices Stay Quiet As High Court Weighs FCC Deference

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared open to giving district courts more leeway to review the Federal Communciations Commission's tome of regulations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, although the two justices expected to cast pivotal votes refrained from posing questions. 

  • January 21, 2025

    Intuitive Seeks Midtrial End To Robo-Surgery Antitrust Suit

    Before calling its first defense witness Tuesday, Intuitive Surgical urged a federal judge to find in its favor in a trial over claims that it abused its market dominance by blocking third parties from refurbishing a component of its da Vinci surgery robot, saying there's no evidence of an unlawful tying arrangement.

  • January 21, 2025

    The Legal And Practical Questions Around Trump's WHO Exit

    President Donald Trump’s first-day order setting in motion the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization could leave the nation less prepared for global health threats and trigger legal clashes over the president’s authority to act unilaterally.

  • January 21, 2025

    Last Sackler Family Members Join Purdue Draft Deal

    The final holdouts among two branches of Sackler family members are ready to join a settlement in the bankruptcy of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, a business owned by the family, according to a report from the co-mediators handling negotiations.

  • January 21, 2025

    Bacon Giant Smithfields Leads 3 IPOs Primed To Exceed $1B

    Bacon maker Smithfields Foods Inc. led a trio of companies unveiling price ranges for initial public offerings Tuesday that could raise $1.3 billion combined over the next week, with 10 law firms guiding the IPOs in various capacities.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Taps Pot Legalization Opponent As Acting DEA Head

    A stalled effort to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana will be overseen, at least temporarily, by a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who has previously spoken out against marijuana reform and specifically criticized the former administration's bid to recategorize the drug.

  • January 21, 2025

    Justices Doubt Retailers Are 'Bystanders' In FDA Challenge

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to agree Tuesday that Texas and Mississippi retailers could join a North Carolina e-cigarette manufacturer in challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its marketing application, and Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the agency's motivation to argue otherwise.

  • January 21, 2025

    Firm Slams Beasley Allen's Bid To Nix Suit Over Talc Team-Up

    Smith Law Firm PLLC is urging a Mississippi federal court to reject Beasley Allen Law Firm's bid to dismiss or transfer a defamation and breach of contract lawsuit over their joint venture agreement for talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson, saying the case shouldn't be thrown out in favor of Beasley Allen's Alabama suit.

  • January 21, 2025

    What IP Attorneys Need To Know From Trump's First Days

    Since the Trump administration took over on Monday, a new acting director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been sworn in, federal workers have been mandated to return to working in person and the Biden administration's artificial intelligence executive order has been rescinded. Here's what IP attorneys should know.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 20, 2025

    Trump, Musk Sued By Nonprofits Over DOGE Transparency

    Public Citizen and other nonprofits hit the Trump administration with multiple lawsuits seeking to shut down the new Department of Government Efficiency in D.C. federal court Monday, alleging the Elon Musk-led advisory committee targeting government waste lacks requisite transparency guardrails to prevent DOGE from solely advancing private interests.

  • January 17, 2025

    Walgreens Knowingly Filled Invalid Prescriptions, Feds Say

    The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Walgreens of knowingly filling millions of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances that did not have a legitimate medical purpose or were not valid, intervening in cases brought by four whistleblowers in Illinois federal court.

  • January 17, 2025

    MSN Wants Generic Entresto Launch After Patent Expired

    MSN Pharmaceuticals asked the Federal Circuit Friday to let it launch its generic version of Novartis' blockbuster heart drug Entresto while the drugmakers continue their litigation over a newly expired patent, by lifting a temporary injunction barring that launch.

  • January 17, 2025

    Bayer, J&J Minimized Drug Reaction Data, 3rd Circ. Told

    A doctor urged the Third Circuit on Friday to revive his whistleblower suit against Bayer Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, arguing that the drugmakers' regulatory approval applications played down the side effects of the antibiotics Cipro and Levaquin.

  • January 17, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Forum Shopping & TCPA Definitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Tuesday for a short argument session, during which the justices will consider the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's bid to limit forum shopping by manufacturers challenging agency decisions and how much deference district courts must give to Federal Communications Commission orders.

  • January 17, 2025

    NC Biotech Co. Can't Restrain Co-Founder's Rival Biz Yet

    A biotechnology company can't stop its co-founder from conducting research and soliciting customers at his new company using what it believes is stolen confidential information, a North Carolina state court judge said Friday, pointing to a lack of urgency and glaring holes in the record.

  • January 17, 2025

    3rd Circ. Vexed By Remedies For Defunct Vax Mandate

    The Third Circuit wrestled Friday with how it could remedy injuries claimed to be suffered by nurses who lost their jobs for not complying with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, asking what order it could give about something that is no longer in effect and about jobs they no longer have.

Expert Analysis

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Can Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Help Cannabis Businesses?

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    Attorneys at Fox Rothschild consider whether Chapter 15 may be used as a tool to liquidate U.S. assets of cannabis companies in foreign bankruptcy proceedings, and look at the statutory provisions that may have a bearing on the successful liquidation of assets under the Bankruptcy Code.

  • FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts

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    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.

  • Parsing NJ Court's Rationale For Denying Lipitor Class Cert.

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    A New Jersey federal court's recent Lipitor rulings granting summary judgment and denying motions for class certification for two plaintiff classes offer insight into the level of rigorous analysis required by both parties and their experts to satisfy the requirements of class certification, says Catia Twal at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma

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    If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • Rebuttal

    Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence

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    While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.

  • Cannabis Biz Real Estate Loan Considerations For Lenders

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    Now that cannabis sales are legal in some states, real estate lenders are interested in financing the land used by cannabis companies, but because cannabis sales are still illegal under federal law, lenders must make adjustments for cannabis-adjacent transactions, say Mark Levenson and Jeffrey Wendler at Sills Cummis.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • A Primer On EU's Updated Human Substance Regulations

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    The European Union's updated standards regarding quality and safety of substances of human origin meant for human application carry significant implications for companies that work with cells and tissues, and U.S. companies active in the EU market should pay particular attention to the import and export rules, say Geneviève Michaux and Georgios Symeonidis at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • The Road Ahead For Regulation Of Digital Twins In Healthcare

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    Digital replicas of cells, organs and people — known as digital twins — can facilitate clinical trials for new drugs by reducing the number of patients required, but data limitations can create logistical hurdles and regulatory efforts addressing digital twins are still in early stages, say consultants at Keystone Strategy.

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