Life Sciences

  • 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.

  • September 04, 2024

    Whittaker Seeks $535M Deal In Talc Cases Tied To Berkshire

    Bankrupt talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels Inc. asked a New Jersey bankruptcy court to approve a $535 million settlement that will resolve claims against companies including Berkshire Hathaway Inc., chemical distributor Brenntag and DB US Holding Corp.

  • September 04, 2024

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Blackbeard IP Fight, Firm Data Breach

    As summer winds down, the North Carolina Business Court tackled usage rights pertaining to footage and artifacts from Blackbeard's shipwreck while grappling with uncovering the details of a cyberattack that exposed the data of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.

  • September 04, 2024

    Chamber Backs Gilead's Immunity In COVID Appeal

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a trade association representing drug companies have urged a Michigan state appeals court to rule that Gilead Sciences is immune from a claim that a recalled batch of COVID-19 medication caused a man to suffer two strokes.

  • September 04, 2024

    Glenmark Will Pay $25M To End Feds' Price-Fixing Suit

    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals USA will pay $25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by conspiring to fix the price of a generic high cholesterol drug, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

  • September 04, 2024

    McCarter & English Rips Challenge To Malpractice Win In NJ

    McCarter & English LLP panned a pharmaceutical company's attempt to undo the firm's victory in a malpractice case last month, telling a New Jersey state court that issues the company raised in its motion to reconsider had "no impact" on the decision granting the firm a win.

Expert Analysis

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

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    The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Permissible New Reply Arguments

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    In the time since the Federal Circuit’s Axonics ruling, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has allowed petitioners to raise new unpatentability grounds in response to unforeseeable claim constructions in petitions, and reiterated that a petition need not anticipate every argument that may be raised in the response, say Joseph Myles and Timothy May at Finnegan.

  • Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline

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    The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • 'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.

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    Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.

  • McKesson May Change How AKS-Based FCA Claims Are Pled

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    The Second Circuit’s analysis in U.S. v. McKesson, an Anti-Kickback Statute-based False Claims Act case, provides guidance for both relators and defendants parsing scienter-related allegations, say Li Yu at Dicello Levitt, Ellen London at London & Stout, and Erica Hitchings at Whistleblower Law.

  • Series

    Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 7th Circ. Mootness Fee Case May Curb Frivolous Merger Suits

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    On April 15, the Seventh Circuit in Jorge Alcarez v. Akorn Inc. mapped out a framework for courts to consider mootness fees paid to individual shareholders after the voluntary dismissal of a challenge to a public company merger, which could encourage objections to mootness fees and reduce the number of frivolous merger challenges filed, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Fintiv Denials Are On The Rise At PTAB

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    Following last year's CommScope v. Dali decision, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is increasingly using Fintiv factors to discretionarily deny inter partes review petitions — and attorneys ignore it at their peril, say Josepher Li and Michelle Armond at Armond Wilson.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • Cos. Must Prepare For Calif. Legislation That Would Ban PFAS

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    Pending California legislation that would ban the sale or distribution of new products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances could affect thousands of businesses — and given the bill's expected passage, and its draconian enforcement regime, companies must act now to prepare for it, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • FDA Warning Letter Tightens Reins On 'Research Only' Labels

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    A recent warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Agena Bioscience alleged the company’s diagnostic devices were labeled for research use only, but improperly promoted for human clinical purposes, signifying a reinforcement — and a potential narrowing — of the agency's policy on products labeled “research only,” say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Practical Pointers After Fed. Circ. Double-Patenting Decision

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    With the Federal Circuit recently denying a full court review of In re: Cellect, a decision regarding obviousness-type double-patenting, affected patent family holders should evaluate their rights through both patent prosecution and future litigation lenses to minimize risks, say Austin Lorch and Jeff Wolfson at Haynes Boone.

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