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Life Sciences
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May 24, 2013
Conceptus Investor Can’t Block $1.2B Bayer Acquisition
A Delaware Chancery judge refused Friday to block Bayer AG’s imminent $1.2 billion acquisition of contraception maker Conceptus Inc., saying a putative shareholder class action alleging the deal undervalues Conceptus didn’t contain claims plausible enough to merit an accelerated schedule.
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May 24, 2013
Primcogent Files Ch. 11 In Feud With Fat-Zapping Laser Maker
Primcogent Solutions LLC, former distributor of the Zerona cosmetic surgery laser, filed for bankruptcy in Texas this week and sued the laser’s manufacturer in an effort to revive a recently terminated licensing agreement at the center of its business.
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May 24, 2013
Lupin Must Produce Generic Info In Warner Chilcott Suit
A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday approved Warner Chilcott Co. LLC’s request for documents regarding the development of Lupin Ltd.’s proposed generic version of the chewable oral contraceptive Generess Fe, but denied a deposition request in the ongoing patent battle.
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May 24, 2013
JPML Head Judge Explains Why Panel Is More Picky
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has rejected a higher percentage of centralization requests in recent years, a trend the head of the panel told Law360 was due in part to a rise in patent cases and other types of litigation he said were more likely to center on individual issues.
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May 24, 2013
1st Circ. Revives CVS Shareholder Fraud Class Action
The First Circuit on Friday revived a CVS Caremark Corp. shareholder class action accusing the company and three former top executives of falsely touting that CVS and Caremark were successfully integrated when, in fact, the integration was going poorly and drove off several large customers.
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May 24, 2013
B&L Unit To Pay $34M For Drug Marketing Guilty Plea: DOJ
A Bausch & Lomb Inc. affiliate will cough up $33.5 million as part of an agreement copping to federal charges that it promoted an anti-inflammatory eye-treatment drug for unapproved new uses that were billed to federal health programs, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.
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May 24, 2013
Arbitration Bias Claim In Drug Row Premature, Judge Says
A California judge on Friday tossed a lawsuit asking her to find that the American Arbitration Association is biased against an attorney for drugmaker PeriCor Therapeutics Inc., saying judicial review would be premature before an AAA panel issues an award in PeriCor's underlying contract dispute with Merck & Co.
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May 24, 2013
Law360 Names 10 FCPA Powerhouse Firms
Many savvy law firms boast their expertise in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, but an elite group of 10 firms have emerged as true leaders in the fast-growing field, earning them a spot on Law360’s inaugural list of FCPA Powerhouses.
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May 24, 2013
Fresenius Hits Dr. Reddy's With Diprivan IP Suit
A subsidiary of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA on Thursday accused the Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and a U.S. unit of infringing four of its patents when Dr. Reddy’s applied to produce a generic version of the sedative Diprivan.
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May 24, 2013
Royalty Gets 68K Shares Of Support For $6.3B Elan Takeover
Royalty Pharma AG said Friday that stakeholders in U.K. drugmaker Elan Corp., who hold roughly 68,000 combined shares, had agreed to vote in favor of the New York investor's $6.3 billion hostile takeover offer, a fraction of the support Royalty will need to complete the deal.
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May 24, 2013
Intuitive Not Negligent In Surgery Death, Jury Rules
Intuitive Surgical Inc. was not negligent in its training of a doctor whose botched surgery using the company's da Vinci robotic surgical system allegedly led to a patient's premature death, a Washington state jury ruled Thursday.
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May 24, 2013
USPTO's Patent Term View Oversteps Authority, Drug Co. Says
Drugmaker Exelixis Inc. has urged the Federal Circuit to overturn the patent office's current interpretation of the patent term adjustment statute, saying the office's take on the provision “oversteps” its authority and unfairly shortens the lives of patents.
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May 24, 2013
Flonase Users Seek Sanctions For Foes Of $35M Antitrust Deal
Flonase purchasers urged a Pennsylvania federal court Thursday to sanction objectors to a $35 million class action settlement of allegations that GlaxoSmithKline PLC improperly delayed market entry of a generic nasal spray, saying the two objectors and their attorneys ignored a court order.
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May 24, 2013
DePuy Loses Bid To Toss $8.3M Hip Implant Verdict
A California judge on Friday denied Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Inc.'s bid to toss an $8.3 million jury award won by a retired prison guard who alleged he was injured by its ASR XL metal hip, ruling sufficient evidence existed to prove the product was defectively designed.
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May 24, 2013
Ex-Smith & Nephew Exec Loses Sanctions Bid In FCA Suit
A Tennessee federal judge Thursday denied an ex-Smith & Nephew Inc. executive's bid to sanction the medical device maker for failing to produce data in a False Claims Act suit alleging it misrepresented the country of origin of products sold to the government, finding the information sought isn't available.
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May 24, 2013
Capsule Seller Can't Duck Suit Over Testosterone Claims
A California federal judge on Thursday rejected Windmill Health Products LLC's bid to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of falsely advertising that its Iso-Test capsules boost testosterone, finding the company failed to show the suit was preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
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May 24, 2013
Forest Labs Subpoenaed Over New COPD Inhaler
Forest Laboratories Inc. has been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice in a New York-based probe over its recently released chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment Tudorza Pressair, the company revealed Thursday.
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May 24, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Valeant, Google, Suntory
Valeant Pharmaceuticals stands poised to pick up eye care company Bausch & Lomb in a $9 billion megabuy, while Google could start a high-profile bid war with Facebook over the satellite-mapping startup that already drew a $1 billion bid from the social networking giant.
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May 23, 2013
Vaccine Distributor Antitrust Claims Should Stick, Judge Told
A Nevada clinic said Wednesday it had presented enough evidence to tie Apexus Inc. to alleged abuse of a federal drug-discount program and keep the nonprofit drug distributor in an antitrust suit that also targets GlaxoSmithKline LLC and a public health agency.
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May 23, 2013
Watson, Apotex Settle Azilect Patent Infringement Suit
A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday dismissed Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s claims that generic-drug makers Watson Laboratories Inc. and Apotex Corp. infringed its patents for the Parkinson's disease drug Azilect, saying the parties have reached confidential settlement and licensing agreements.
Expert Analysis
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You May Be Liable For Someone Else's Overintoxication
A number of lessons can be learned from the representative case involving a wrongful death claim against Phusion Projects Inc., the company behind the Four Loko beverage. Now, the industry is left to wonder the extent of the liability a court finds for an individual’s overconsumption, says Ashley Watkins of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
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How Monsanto Applies To Nonagricultural Biotechnology
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bowman v. Monsanto Co. provides the biotech community some much-needed clarity regarding self-replicating inventions. Perhaps equally important, the court displayed a keen sensitivity to the negative implications of an overly broad exhaustion doctrine, say attorneys with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP.
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The Starstruck Medical Causation Trend
In the technical sense, medical causation answers whether an accused substance brought about some alleged disease. But rarely are the central causal allegations in major toxic torts purely courtroom affairs — publicity and politics now drive the litigation, with plaintiff verdicts begetting more publicity, says James Sabovich of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
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Digging Into The Duty To Mine Big Data
Data mining has led, and will lead to, startling discoveries in the sciences. In the law, it may well lead to startling liabilities, especially if defendants are made to pay for harms foreseeable only by the most powerful software available, says David Oliver of Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP.
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High Court Takes On Declaratory Judgment Burden Of Proof
With the U.S. Supreme Court granting certiorari in Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp., it will help clarify who bears the burden of proof in a declaratory judgment action. If the court affirms the Federal Circuit, the traditional patent law for this type of controversy will be turned on its head, requiring a licensee to disprove infringement, says Shashank Upadhye of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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The Growing Problem Of Fishy Labeling
As evidenced by a recent study conducted by Oceana, mislabeled seafood appears to be a widespread problem that can adversely affect both the public interest and individual consumers’ wallets, health and socially responsible purchasing precepts, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter LLP.
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K-V Case Tests Limits Of ITC Jurisdiction
As illustrated by the recent K-V Pharmaceutical Co. case, the U.S. International Trade Commission will likely closely review complaints that could usurp the power of another federal agency and potentially undermine that agency's application of its own rules, say Eric Fues and Mareesa Frederick of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.
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Get Ready For Stricter RMP Enforcement
The recent $4 million settlement by Tyson Foods Inc. represents one of the largest penalties for a stand-alone risk management program enforcement case since the provision was added to the Clean Air Act in 1990. This case also exemplifies the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s increasing focus on RMP compliance and its intention to seek ever-larger penalties for RMP violations, say attorneys with Kilpatrick Townsend Stockton LLP.
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Dissecting The Rules Of Generic Drug User Fee Amendments
The Generic Drug User Fee Amendments, a part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, have changed the practice of generic drug sponsors in a multitude of ways. These requirements should be top of mind for abbreviated new drug application filers because they may ultimately impact a generic applicant’s eligibility for the coveted six-month marketing exclusivity, says Suchira Ghosh of Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP.