Life Sciences

  • 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.

  • January 17, 2025

    Duke U. Strikes Deal In Female Scientist's Pay Bias Suit

    Duke University and a female scientist have brokered an agreement to end her suit claiming she was paid less than her male counterparts and was threatened with demotions after complaining about it, according to a Friday filing in North Carolina federal court.

  • January 17, 2025

    Crown Labs Tops Rival Bid In Quest To Buy Biotech Revance

    Skincare product company Crown Laboratories Inc. has offered to raise its all-cash bid to buy healthcare biotech company Revance Therapeutics Inc. from $3.10 per share to $3.65 per share as it seeks to beat out a surprise bid from a Revance shareholder, according to a securities filing on Friday. 

  • January 17, 2025

    1st Circ. Revives Biotech Worker's COVID-19 Vax Challenge

    The First Circuit on Thursday resuscitated religious discrimination claims brought by a former pharmaceutical company employee who alleged her employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate during the pandemic was in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.

  • January 17, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Simpson Thacher, Covington

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Eli Lilly and Co. buys a precision breast cancer program, Applied Digital Corp. enters a financing agreement for its high-performance computing business, Clearwater Analytics buys Enfusion, and Lantheus Holdings Inc. buys Life Molecular Imaging Ltd.

  • January 16, 2025

    Texas Judge Says 3 States Can Pursue Mifepristone Suit

    A Texas federal judge said Thursday that Idaho, Missouri and Kansas can continue to challenge federal approvals for the abortion medication mifepristone in Texas federal court after private plaintiffs dropped their claims.

  • January 16, 2025

    ITC Commissioner Heading To WilmerHale In DC

    One of the commissioners of the U.S. International Trade Commission, who had served as the agency's leader for a year and a half, has decided to leave and make the move to WilmerHale, according to the ITC.

  • January 16, 2025

    EpiPen Direct Buyers, Mylan Ink $75M Antitrust Deal

    Mylan Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $73.5 million to resolve claims it worked with Pfizer to inflate the price of the latter's popular auto-injecting emergency allergy medication EpiPen, a proposed class of direct purchasers told a Kansas federal judge Wednesday, bringing the total settlement to $123.5 million.

  • January 16, 2025

    USPTO Seeks Views On 'Traditional Knowledge' IP Treaty

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requested comments Thursday on whether the U.S. should sign an international treaty that could require patent applicants to disclose if an invention draws on the traditional knowledge of indigenous people, which has concerned business groups.

  • January 16, 2025

    Expert Witnesses Limited In J&J Talc Ch. 11 Dismissal Try

    A Texas bankruptcy judge limited Thursday the number of expert witnesses that can provide testimony in an upcoming hearing on talc claimants' attempt to dismiss the Chapter 11 case of Johnson & Johnson's talc unit.

  • January 16, 2025

    Merck Defends 3rd Circ. Win In Mumps Vaccine Antitrust Case

    Merck urged the Third Circuit not to reconsider a ruling that immunized the company from antitrust claims over submissions it made to federal regulators for its mumps vaccine, arguing the appeals court was right to find the submissions were protected.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Urged To Keep Block Of Sun Pharma Alopecia Drug

    Incyte Corp. has urged the Federal Circuit to leave in place an injunction a New Jersey judge imposed in November blocking Sun Pharmaceutical from launching the alopecia drug Leqselvi, saying the lower court was correct that the launch would give Sun an improper "head start."

  • January 16, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Bids Adieu, TikTok Wants Out

    The North Carolina Business Court's former chief judge hung up his robes for the last time as the court entered the new year with a ruling that shapes the fate of beset real estate company MV Realty's consumer fraud trial and arguments by TikTok Inc. that its platform being "too engaging" isn't enough for the state to begin an enforcement action.

  • January 16, 2025

    Chamber Slams Opioid Judge's PBM Audit Privilege Ruling

    The Sixth Circuit must step in to prevent a pharmacy benefit manager from being forced to turn over internal compliance audit documents, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said, arguing a lower court's decision threatens to undermine the existence of in-house counsel's attorney-client privilege. 

  • January 15, 2025

    Novartis Wins Temporary Stay Of MSN's Generic Heart Drug

    The D.C. Circuit late Wednesday temporarily halted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of MSN Pharmaceuticals' generic version of Novartis' blockbuster heart failure drug Entresto, just after federal judges in D.C. and Delaware declined to block the launch of MSN's product.

  • January 15, 2025

    Gilead, Feds Resolve HIV Drug Patent Dispute Amid Appeal

    Gilead Sciences and the federal government have agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in a yearslong intellectual property and contract battle over HIV prevention drugs Truvada and Descovy, according to stipulations of voluntary dismissal filed Wednesday in both the Federal Circuit and Delaware federal court.

  • January 15, 2025

    Robo Surgery Co. Caused $140M In Lost Profits, Jury Told

    Surgical Instrument Service suffered lost profits of up to $140 million because Intuitive Surgical Inc. blocked it from providing a service that extends the life of an Intuitive da Vinci surgery robot component, an economist told jurors Wednesday in a trial over claims Intuitive abuses its market power.

  • January 15, 2025

    Quest Diagnostics Gets Meta Data-Share Suit Tossed For Now

    Quest Diagnostics got allegations that it unlawfully shared patient data with Meta Platforms through ad tracking software dismissed Tuesday, after persuading a New Jersey federal judge to reconsider his earlier ruling that allowed an eavesdropping claim under California's Invasion of Privacy Act to go forward.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • 3rd Circ. Ruling Shows Benefits Of IP Licenses In Bankruptcy

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    The Third Circuit’s recent ruling in Mallinckrodt’s Chapter 11 filing, which held that Mallinckrodt could sever its obligations to pay Sanofi royalties on sales of an autoimmune disease drug, highlights the advantages of structuring transactions as nonexclusive licenses for developers of intellectual property, say Gregory Hesse and Kaleb Bailey at Hunton.

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