Life Sciences

  • September 16, 2025

    The Patent Workforce Is Attracting Fewer Attys, More Agents

    The pool of patent practitioners registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has undergone a dramatic shift over the past few decades, with the number of attorneys taking the bar exam decreasing at the same time more patent agents are entering the field.

  • September 16, 2025

    Jazz Can't Escape Antitrust Claims Over Sleep Disorder IP

    A Delaware federal judge has refused to let Jazz Pharmaceuticals dodge antitrust claims that it wrongly listed a patent covering a way to distribute a narcolepsy drug in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book.

  • September 16, 2025

    CVS Caremark Takes $290M Overbilling Judgment To 3rd Circ.

    CVS's pharmacy benefits manager will appeal a judgment against the company that was recently increased from $95 million to $290 million in a suit alleging it overbilled Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs, according to a notice of appeal filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • September 16, 2025

    FTC Chair Pledges 'Action' Against Late Merger Fixes

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson vowed Tuesday to take unspecified "action" against tactics by merging companies to propose fixes only after antitrust enforcers bring a transaction challenge, a strategy he called "bad for the system."

  • September 16, 2025

    Jones Day Adds FDA Regulatory Expert As Of Counsel In DC

    Jones Day on Tuesday announced the arrival of an attorney who brings over a decade of experience at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advising on drug regulation.

  • September 16, 2025

    For Cahill Atty, Rare Disease Pro Bono Work Is Personal

    John MacGregor of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP didn't have any experience in healthcare law before taking on a pro bono client that supports people with a rare form of epilepsy. MacGregor's son is one of them.

  • September 16, 2025

    VarmX Partners With Biotech CSL In Deal Worth Up To $2.2B

    European life sciences venture capital firm EQT Life Sciences on Tuesday announced that its portfolio company VarmX, a Netherlands-based biotech, has entered into an exclusive option agreement to be bought by global biotech CSL in a deal worth up to $2.2 billion.

  • September 15, 2025

    Jazz Loses Bid To Block Avadel From Seeking Sleep Drug OK

    Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. cannot block Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals LLC from seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its sleep disorder treatment, a Delaware federal judge ruled, saying the act of seeking FDA approval is not an infringing activity that can be enjoined.

  • September 15, 2025

    AbbVie Settles Rinvoq Litigation, Blocks Generics Until 2037

    AbbVie Inc. has settled litigation with drug manufacturers, blocking generic versions of its immunosuppressant Rinvoq drug from the market for just over a decade and closing out litigation that accused generic-drug makers of infringing a slew of its patents.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ch. 11 Plan Faces Blowback From 23andMe Breach Claimants

    More than 30,000 individuals who elected to pursue arbitration rather than sign on to a proposed class settlement over a data breach at 23andMe are urging a Missouri bankruptcy judge to reject the DNA testing company's notice of its reorganization plan, arguing that the disclosure provides misleading and inflated information about the company's agreement with these claimants.

  • September 15, 2025

    Bayer Urges 9th Circ. Not To Revive Tevra Flea, Tick Meds Suit

    Bayer is urging the Ninth Circuit not to grant a new trial over claims that it locked up the market for pet flea and tick treatment, saying the only evidence that rival Tevra showed a jury at trial was "highly dubious."

  • September 15, 2025

    Ex-PTAB Leader Reflects On USPTO After Leaving Agency

    One of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's most senior judges has left the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after more than 13 years, and soon after joining private practice she spoke with Law360 about her history at the agency and the current dynamics playing out at the office.

  • September 15, 2025

    Investor Says $16M Ouraring Fight Shouldn't Go To Finland

    An early investor in the Oura health and fitness tracker is fighting Ouraring Inc.'s attempt to send his $16 million dispute to arbitration in Finland, saying there is no underlying agreement to arbitrate and his lawsuit should stay in California federal court.

  • September 15, 2025

    Stewart Says New Policies Seek Fairness For Patent Owners

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart said Monday the numerous changes to patent reviews she has implemented are intended to provide "more balance and fairness" for patent owners, and bring the reviews "back to how they were originally intended."

  • September 15, 2025

    Eli Lilly Fights $278M Drug Royalties Ruling At 9th Circ.

    Eli Lilly urged the Ninth Circuit at a hearing on Monday to reverse a finding that it owes an Arizona company $278 million from insulin-brands sales under their royalty agreement, arguing it is off the hook because Eli Lilly only used that company's technology in manufacturing, not in the final product.

  • September 15, 2025

    Corcept Can't Escape Teva's Mifepristone Antitrust Suit

    Corcept Therapeutics must face most of Teva Pharmaceuticals' lawsuit alleging it suppressed generic competition for its brand-name medication used to treat a rare cortisol disorder, a California federal judge ruled, saying the claims are not time-barred and Teva has adequately alleged unlawful monopolization.

  • September 15, 2025

    Exactech Gets OK For Ch. 11 Plan Ditching Sponsor Deal

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Monday approved Exactech's Chapter 11 sale and liquidation plan that drops a previous deal with the joint implant maker's equity sponsor in favor of funding the pursuit of potential legal claims against the sponsor on behalf of creditors.

  • September 15, 2025

    Novartis, Monte Rosa Ink Up To $5.7B 'Molecular Glue' Deal

    Novartis is placing a potential $5.7 billion bet on Monte Rosa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company, to develop new treatments for immune-related diseases, Monte Rosa said on Monday. 

  • September 12, 2025

    Ex-Investor Relations Exec Gets 15 Months For Inside Trades

    A former managing director for LifeSci Advisors LLC was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Friday for passing confidential information about several of the investor relations firm's clients to two friends who used it to make over $500,000 in illicit profits.

  • September 12, 2025

    AbbVie Can't Halt Miss. Discount Drug Law, 5th Circ. Says

    AbbVie and other pharmaceutical manufacturers that participate in Medicaid cannot preliminarily block a Mississippi law barring their interference with the distribution of discounted prescriptions to pharmacies serving low-income patients, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the drugmakers haven't shown that the statute likely effectuates a taking of their property.

  • September 12, 2025

    Stewart Issues New Slate Of Discretionary Denials

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart rejected 18 petitions for Patent Trial and Appeal Board review based on discretionary factors on Friday, but didn't introduce new elements to her analysis.

  • September 12, 2025

    23AndMe Inks $3.25M Data Breach Deal With Canadian Users

    23andMe has asked a Missouri bankruptcy judge to approve a $3.25 million settlement reached with a class of 300,000 Canadian citizens whose information was compromised following a cybersecurity breach, touting the deal as an "excellent result" considering limited funds available and other issues implicated by the company's bankruptcy proceedings.

  • September 12, 2025

    Jury Awards Mallinckrodt $9.5M In Nitric Oxide Patent Suit

    A Delaware federal jury awarded Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals almost $9.5 million on Friday, finding that French industrial gas company Airgas Healthcare infringed patents covering its inhaled nitric oxide treatment.

  • September 12, 2025

    Novartis Takes Entresto Bench Trial Loss To Fed. Circ.

    Novartis urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to save it from a Delaware federal judge's holding that generic-drug maker MSN Pharmaceuticals did not infringe a patent covering the blockbuster cardiovascular drug Entresto.

  • September 12, 2025

    US Sprinter Gets 4-Year Doping Ban Despite Oxtail Defense

    The international Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday imposed a four-year suspension on American track and field star Erriyon Knighton, who earned medals in two World Championships and competed in the 2021 and 2024 Summer Olympics in the 200 meters, rejecting his explanation blaming the test result on tainted oxtails.

Expert Analysis

  • Rebutting Price Impact In Securities Class Actions

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    Defendants litigating securities cases historically faced long odds in defeating class certification, but that paradigm has recently begun to shift, with recent cases ushering in a more searching analysis of price impact and changing the evidence courts can consider at the class certification stage, say attorneys at Katten.

  • 7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

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    For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Ruling On Labor Peace Law Marks Shift For Cannabis Cos.

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    Currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, an Oregon federal court’s novel decision in Casala v. Kotek, invalidating a state law that requires labor peace agreements as a condition of cannabis business licensure, marks the potential for compliance uncertainty for all cannabis employers in states with labor peace mandates, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Fed. Circ. Rulings Refine Patent Claim Construction Standards

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    Four Federal Circuit patent decisions this year clarify several crucial principles governing patent claim construction, including the importance of prosecution history, and the need for error-free, precise language from claims drafters, say attorneys at Taft.

  • How Value-Based Patent Fees May Shape IP Strategies

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    If the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office implements rumored plans to correlate patent fees with patent value, the financial and strategic consequences would largely depend on the specifics of how, when and how often patent values are assessed, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Using Reissue Applications To Strategically Improve Patents

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    Though reissue applications are an often-overlooked consideration in today's patent environment, they can offer powerful tools for correcting errors, strengthening patent protection, or adapting to evolving business and legal landscapes, says Curtis Powell at Wolf Greenfield.

  • FDA Transparency Plans Raise Investor Disclosure Red Flags

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recently announced intent to publish complete response letters for unapproved drugs and devices implicates certain investor disclosure requirements under securities laws, making it necessary for life sciences and biotech companies to adopt robust controls going forward, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Patent Claim Lessons From Fed. Circ.'s Teva Decision

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Janssen v. Teva is an important precedent for parties drafting patent claims or litigating obviousness where the prior art has potentially overlapping ranges for a claimed element, and may be particularly instructive to patent applicants in the pharmaceutical field, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • DOJ's Novel Cybersecurity FCA Case Is A Warning To Medtech

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent False Claims Act settlement with Illumina over alleged cybersecurity deficiencies suggests that enforcement agencies and whistleblowers are focusing attention toward cybersecurity in life sciences and medical tech, but also reveals key unanswered questions about the legal viability of such allegations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Future-Proof Patent Law By Starting Talent Pipelines Early

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    Law firms struggling with a narrow talent pipeline in the intellectual property space should consider beginning their recruitment strategies for potential candidates as early as high school, and raise awareness for career opportunities that do not require a law degree, says Christine Hollis at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

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