Life Sciences

  • September 09, 2024

    Novo Nordisk Sues Over Ads For Diabetes, Weight Loss Drugs

    A New Jersey company violated trademark and false advertising laws by promoting drugs without a regulatory green light as being generic versions of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy medications, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

  • September 09, 2024

    Novartis Settles Sales Rep.'s Gender Bias Suit

    A former sales representative with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. has settled a lawsuit against the company alleging she faced gender-motivated retaliation after reporting a co-worker for falsifying records and hurting her sales numbers.

  • September 09, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.

  • September 09, 2024

    2nd Circ. Upholds Regeneron's Win In Remote Work Suit

    The Second Circuit rejected a former Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. employee's appeal seeking to revive claims it illegally denied her a remote work situation to care for her daughter while she underwent medical care, ruling Monday that there was no evidence the company had willfully broken the law.

  • September 09, 2024

    Ore. Seeks Dismissal Of Psilocybin Disabilities Suit

    Oregon's health regulator has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging aspects of the state's pioneering regulated psilocybin treatment program, saying that the program's illegality under federal law makes the lawsuit untenable.

  • September 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.

  • September 06, 2024

    Actelion Must Face Tracleer Antitrust Suit With Class Certified

    A Maryland federal judge refused Friday to toss an antitrust suit accusing Actelion Pharmaceuticals of illegally denying generics companies the samples they needed to produce generic versions of its hypertension drug Tracleer, while separately certifying a class composed of "hundreds" of insurers and self-funded employers.

  • September 06, 2024

    Biopharm Co., Directors Sued In Del. Over 'Extreme' Scheme

    A five-year run of "extreme and unconscionable self-dealing" has left 62% of Navidea BioPharmaceuticals Inc. equity in the hands of a single stockholder-director, a Delaware Court of Chancery suit has alleged, with the company now deregistered and currently without a viable product.

  • September 06, 2024

    NJ Medical Co. Claims Ex-Employees Conspired To Form Rival

    A New Jersey medical communications agency said Friday that four of its former employees and the onetime U.S. president of biopharmaceutical company PharmaEssentia used its confidential information in a scheme to form a rival firm and steal millions of dollars of work from it.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ingersoll Rand Blocks Rival From Hiring Ex-Exec In NDA Fight

    A Colorado state court has preliminarily blocked the former chief executive of a company acquired by industrial products giant Ingersoll Rand Inc. from working for rival Avantor, finding Ingersoll Rand will likely win its claims that the executive specifically agreed not to work for Avantor as a condition of the acquisition.

  • September 06, 2024

    Travel Nurse Says Emory Ended Her Contract Over Race Bias

    A travel nurse alleged in a lawsuit that Emory Healthcare Inc. unlawfully terminated her three-month contract after she complained that allowing her to administer peritoneal dialysis on Black patients without proper training would be "akin to treating those patients as guinea pigs."

  • September 06, 2024

    Goodwin-Led Cancer Biotech Eyes Roughly $200M IPO

    Drug developer Bicara Therapeutics Inc., advised by Goodwin Proctor LLP, announced on Friday plans to raise around $200 million in its initial public offering, with the proceeds going toward developing bifunctional antibodies designed to treat solid tumors.

  • September 06, 2024

    Glioblastoma Org. Wants End To Rival's Use Of 'GBM'

    The Glioblastoma Foundation has hit a competing nonprofit with a suit alleging that the group's use of the initials "GBM" in its name has ripped off its trademark and sown confusion among donors who can't tell the two organizations apart.

  • September 05, 2024

    Lawmakers, AGs Urge Justices To OK Denial Of E-Cig Apps

    A coalition of state attorneys general and a group of Democratic Congress members are backing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in its fight to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision striking down the denials of applications to market flavored vapes.

  • September 05, 2024

    Law Firms Appeal Atty Fee Denial In Opioid Settlements

    Two law firms, Goldstein & Russell PC and Kelley & Ferraro LLP, have claimed in an appeal to the Sixth Circuit that they were improperly shut out of the $2.13 billion attorney fee pool created by recent national opioid settlements with major pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains.

  • September 05, 2024

    Class Attys Vie To Lead Drug Co. Insider Trading Suit In Del.

    A courtroom face-off over lead stockholder counsel duties in a Delaware Chancery Court case accusing a biopharmaceutical company's directors of insider trading and fiduciary duty breaches got edgy Thursday, after one of the plaintiff-side legal teams contended that the other's case was irreparably hobbled by conflicts of interest.

  • September 05, 2024

    Lupin Infringes Exeltis Contraceptive Patents, Judge Finds

    Mumbai-based generic-pharmaceuticals company Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has infringed five patents of the estrogen-free contraceptive Slynd, a Delaware federal judge said Wednesday, finding in favor of Spanish pharmaceutical company Insud Pharma and its New Jersey-based division Exeltis USA Inc. on all asserted claims.

  • September 05, 2024

    Pharma Co. Verrica Fails To Shed Investor Suit Over FDA OK

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has partially denied Verrica Phamaceuticals Inc.'s second request to throw out a proposed class action filed by investors who claim the company defrauded them by hiding obstacles it faced in obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its lead product.

  • September 04, 2024

    Albertsons Denied Texas Court Remand In Opioid MDL

    An Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over accusations that drug distributors contributed to the opioid epidemic denied a motion to transfer to Texas a portion of the dispute involving pharmacy company Albertsons.

  • September 04, 2024

    Leech Tishman Combines With Calif. Firm Nelson Hardiman

    Leech Tishman is set to add California-based healthcare and life science law firm Nelson Hardiman's 17 attorneys to its Los Angeles office this fall and will do business in the Golden State under the combined name Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • September 04, 2024

    Medical Cos. Must Provide Doctor Names In Fla. Qui Tam Suit

    A Florida federal judge has ordered several medical companies accused of fraudulently obtaining more Medicare funding than they were owed to produce the names of doctors associated with the companies, saying the difference between employed and affiliate providers isn't relevant.

  • September 04, 2024

    Bid To Nix Expert Fails As Fed. Circ. OKs $2.3M Patent Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $2.3 million patent verdict against dental imaging device maker Planmeca USA Inc., rejecting the company's argument that plaintiff Osseo Imaging LLC's technical expert was not qualified because his experience came after the invention.

  • September 04, 2024

    Ga. Justices Won't Disturb Distributors' Opioid Trial Win

    The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that family members of drug abusers are not entitled to a new trial after a Glynn County jury cleared opioid distributors of wrongdoing, in response to claims regarding an allegedly dishonest juror and flawed jury instructions.

  • September 04, 2024

    Groups Urge DC Circ. To Reject Pharma Terrorism Liability Claims

    Business and nongovernmental organization advocacy groups have urged the D.C. Circuit to rule that terrorism victims can't hold pharmaceutical companies liable for their injuries, citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting similar liability claims against technology companies.

  • September 04, 2024

    Zoetis Sanctions Bid Denied In Racehorse Death Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge denied Wednesday a motion by drugmaker Zoetis Inc. for sanctions against the owners of a 3-year-old racehorse who say it died after being treated with one of the company's antibiotics, saying there's no indication that delays in responding to discovery were in bad faith, and by now the company has received all the relevant documents in the plaintiffs' possession.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

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    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.

  • 2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

  • 4 Takeaways From Biotech Patent Invalidity Ruling

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    The recent Patents Court decision in litigation between Advanced Cell Diagnostics and Molecular Instruments offers noteworthy commentary on issues related to experiments done in the ordinary course of business, joint importation, common general knowledge and mindset, and mosaicking for anticipation, say Nessa Khandaker and Darren Jiron at Finnegan.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Calif. Ruling Heightens Medical Product Maker Liability

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    The California Supreme Court's decision in Himes v. Somatics last month articulates a new causation standard for medical product manufacturer liability that may lead to stronger product disclosures nationwide and greater friction between manufacturers and physicians, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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