http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Wyeth Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/135646 A Pennsylvania jury has ruled that two Pfizer Inc. units are on the hook for at least $6.3 million in compensatory damages to an Illinois woman who developed breast cancer after she began taking popular menopause drugs Prempro and Provera. http://www.law360.com/articles/135646 http://www.law360.com/articles/135185 The head of the European Commission's pharmaceutical task force reportedly told drug companies Thursday of plans to ask for details on patent deals with generic-drug makers that are suspected of delaying the entry of cheaper drugs into the market. http://www.law360.com/articles/135185 http://www.law360.com/articles/134761 McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced Tuesday that it had hired biotechnology specialist Paul M. Zagar and high-tech guru Louis J. DelJuidice, both formerly of intellectual property boutique Darby & Darby PC, as partners in its New York intellectual property, media and technology group. http://www.law360.com/articles/134761 http://www.law360.com/articles/134463 Wyeth Inc. and Schwarz Pharma Inc. have prevailed again in a lawsuit that alleged the brand-name pharmaceutical companies should have warned consumers that a copycat version of their anti-heartburn medicine Reglan could cause an incurable neurological disorder. http://www.law360.com/articles/134463 http://www.law360.com/articles/131937 Williamson v. Mazda Motor of Am. Inc. raises the question of whether a common law tort claim against the manufacturer of a minivan is preempted because it conflicts with a federal motor safety standard. Examined under the rubrics of law, politics and public policy, petitioners present no compelling reasons to deny preemption in this matter, says Sherrie L. Farrell of Dykema Gossett PLLC. http://www.law360.com/articles/131937 http://www.law360.com/articles/131860 The U.S. Supreme Court has had two recent opportunities to address federal preemption of state law claims regarding allegedly defective medical devices and prescription drugs. At first blush, these opinions may appear to send conflicting messages about the extent to which federal law preempts state common-law tort claims in these areas; however, one might argue that the different outcomes stem from the differences in the separate regulatory approval processes that govern devices and drugs, say James Zeszutek, J.J. Richardson, Melanie Jones and Randal Whitlatch of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/131860 http://www.law360.com/articles/132433 While the verdict officially remains under wraps, word is spreading that a Pennsylvania jury has ordered Pfizer Inc. to fork over $75 million in punitive damages to a woman who developed invasive breast cancer after she began taking the popular menopause drug Prempro. http://www.law360.com/articles/132433 http://www.law360.com/articles/131855 The recent decisions in Perry v. Novartis and Zandi v. Wyeth signify a trend toward courts excluding unreliable expert witness testimony based on differential diagnosis in toxic tort cases. More significantly, the cases articulate the inherent unreliability of differential diagnosis analysis when an alleged injury likely arises from unknown causes, say Kimberly Beck, K.C. Green and Gabrielle Hils of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/131855 http://www.law360.com/articles/131863 A federal appeals court has ruled that a judge rightly threw out a $27 million award to a woman who claimed Wyeth and a Pfizer Inc. subsidiary failed to warn about the cancer risk of their controversial hormone replacement treatment because of expert testimony the judge said should not have been allowed. http://www.law360.com/articles/131863 http://www.law360.com/articles/131483 Merck & Co.’s proposed $41.1 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp. has gained approval from U.S. antitrust regulators on the condition that both companies shed certain assets. http://www.law360.com/articles/131483 http://www.law360.com/articles/131152 Pfizer Inc. is again trying to fend off a lawsuit by a group of California pharmacies and pharmacists claiming the drugmaker's $68 billion buyout of rival Wyeth will eliminate competition and stifle innovation in the U.S. prescription drug market. http://www.law360.com/articles/131152 http://www.law360.com/articles/131010 A British charitable trust has slapped Amgen Inc. and Pfizer Inc. subsidiary Wyeth with a lawsuit over the lucrative rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel, accusing the two defendants — which co-market Enbrel in the U.S. — of willfully infringing a single patent and ignoring demands for royalty payments. http://www.law360.com/articles/131010 http://www.law360.com/articles/130536 In a one-two punch to Pfizer Inc., a Philadelphia jury has reportedly awarded punitive damages in addition to $3.7 million in compensatory damages to a woman who developed invasive breast cancer after she began taking Prempro, which is made by the company’s Wyeth unit. http://www.law360.com/articles/130536 http://www.law360.com/articles/130360 Wyeth Inc. and Cordis Corp. have asked a judge to dismiss or transfer a declaratory judgment suit filed by Boston Scientific Corp. in a fight over a patent related to drug coatings in stents, saying a suit they filed earlier elsewhere should take precedence. http://www.law360.com/articles/130360 http://www.law360.com/articles/130011 EU antitrust regulators have cleared Merck & Co.’s proposed $41.1 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp., a move that will make it the second-largest prescription drug company in the world. http://www.law360.com/articles/130011 http://www.law360.com/articles/129441 Armed with a brand-new patent for its Suvaxyn piglet vaccine, Wyeth has unleashed another infringement action against rivals Schering-Plough Corp. and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. http://www.law360.com/articles/129441 http://www.law360.com/articles/128868 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case that will decide whether failure-to-warn product liability claims against generic-drug manufacturers are preempted by federal law. http://www.law360.com/articles/128868 http://www.law360.com/articles/126516 Increased enforcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, coupled with recent rulings that may pierce holes in food companies’ preemption defenses, is likely to lead to an uptick in the number of consumer lawsuits filed over deceptive health and nutrition claims on foods and beverages. http://www.law360.com/articles/126516 http://www.law360.com/articles/128844 A group of California pharmacies and pharmacists has picked up the sword again in its fight to block Pfizer Inc.’s proposed $68 billion buyout of rival Wyeth, filing an amended complaint after a judge ruled the plaintiffs had failed to support their claims that the merger will eliminate competition and stifle innovation in the U.S. prescription drug market. http://www.law360.com/articles/128844 http://www.law360.com/articles/120566 The Pfizer-Wyeth and Merck-Schering-Plough deals included terms — a financing condition in the Pfizer deal and reverse breakup fees in both — usually relegated to the private equity sphere. And while the provisions may not become commonplace in strategic deals, they will almost certainly show up in negotiations, mergers and acquisitions professionals said. http://www.law360.com/articles/120566