Life Sciences

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. To Hear Args In Psilocybin Right-To-Try Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel will hear oral arguments in August in an appeal brought by a Seattle doctor seeking to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients under state and federal right-to-try laws.

  • June 10, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Big players and big moves dominated much of the past week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, as Tesla in particular and big corporations in general showed their pique over rulings that went toward stockholders or against conventional expectations.

  • June 10, 2024

    Ventilator Co. Vyaire Hits Ch. 11 As COVID Demand Wanes

    Vyaire Medical Inc., a company that makes breathing ventilators and other respiratory treatment and diagnosis products, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware after demand for its products waned following the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • June 10, 2024

    Pharmacy Biz Files Ch. 11 With More Than $235M In Debt

    Illinois-based specialty pharmacy Optio Rx has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with more than $235 million in debt and an agreement with creditors for a partial debt-for-equity swap.

  • June 07, 2024

    Motley Rice Allocated Biggest Share Of $2B Opioid Fees

    A panel directed with allocating $2.13 billion in attorney fees stemming from opioid settlements has recommended awarding the largest shares of the pot to Motley Rice LLC, Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, according to a report filed Friday in Ohio federal court.

  • June 07, 2024

    Talc User With Cancer Had 2nd Exposure Path, Jury Hears

    A pulmonologist helping make the case that a Texas man got mesothelioma from using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder was pressed Friday as to why he failed to tell jurors that medical records reflect the man had a separate type of asbestos exposure.

  • June 07, 2024

    Ozempic MDL Gets New Judge After Judge Pratter's Death

    The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday reassigned sprawling litigation over Ozempic and similar drugs in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania following the sudden death of U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, who'd been overseeing the MDL.

  • June 07, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Revives LA Schools Vaccine Policy Row

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday reversed a California federal court's dismissal of a proposed class action challenging a recently rescinded Los Angeles Unified School District policy requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their jobs, ruling that the district still has the potential to reinstate it.

  • June 07, 2024

    Conn. Judge Pushes State For Proof In $11M Kickback Case

    The Connecticut state judge presiding over an $11 million false claims and kickbacks case against a compounding pharmacy appeared unconvinced Friday that the defendants submitted false claims for payment, peppering the government's counsel with requests to support assertions with case law and evidence that was put on at trial.

  • June 07, 2024

    Chicago-Area Man Charged With $60M COVID Test Fraud

    A suburban Chicago man is facing healthcare fraud and money laundering charges over more than $60 million in Medicare reimbursement claims for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits that were allegedly never provided, including thousands of tests for dead people.

  • June 07, 2024

    DC Circ. Undoes Library Of Congress Win In Fair Use Fight

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday reversed a lower court's decision that had rejected two industry groups' challenge to a final rule that categorized medical device diagnostic procedures and repairs as fair use exemptions to U.S. copyright law.

  • June 07, 2024

    SEC Fines Ex-AstraZeneca Insider $1.4M For Merger Trades

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered a former AstraZeneca employee to pay $1.4 million to settle claims he used nonpublic information to trade CinCor Pharma shares ahead of the public announcement that the two companies would merge.

  • June 07, 2024

    Ranbaxy Units Overcome Lipitor Antitrust MDL

    Multiple Ranbaxy Inc. entities have defeated multidistrict litigation accusing them of conspiring with Pfizer Inc. to delay releasing a generic alternative to blood pressure drug Lipitor, as a New Jersey federal judge on Thursday criticized the drug purchasers' "speculative" arguments.

  • June 07, 2024

    Goodwin, Cooley Lead J&J-Backed Neurological Firm's IPO

    Johnson & Johnson-backed neurological firm Rapport Therapeutics Inc. rallied in debut trading Friday after it completed a $136 million initial public offering within its price range, guided by Goodwin Procter LLP and underwriters counsel Cooley LLP.

  • June 07, 2024

    COVID Test Supplier Sees $1.4M Default Loss In Gopuff Suit

    A Connecticut federal court on Friday handed a medical supply company a default loss in a suit by online retail delivery service Gopuff alleging that the supplier failed to fulfill an order for nearly 106,000 COVID-19 test kits, ordering the company to pay roughly $1.4 million.

  • June 07, 2024

    Acorda Therapeutics Gets OK On $185M Ch. 11 Sale To Merz

    Drugmaker Acorda Therapeutics Inc. received a New York bankruptcy judge's approval Friday to complete a $185 million sale of its assets to a fellow pharmaceutical company, allowing Acorda to move ahead with a Chapter 11 plan to wind down its business.

  • June 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Panel Doubts Bid To Nix Actavis' $12M Deduction

    A Federal Circuit panel seemed skeptical of the government's bid to overturn a decision allowing drugmaker Actavis to deduct $12 million it spent fending off lawsuits as it secured approval to sell generics, raising the question during oral arguments Friday whether the company was being uniquely targeted.

  • June 06, 2024

    White Collar Boutique Sued By Ex-Client Over Representation

    White collar boutique Clark Smith Villazor LLP and one of its name partners is facing a lawsuit from a former client, a convicted securities fraud defendant who claims the firm caused him to be arrested by the FBI and face millions of dollars in fines.

  • June 06, 2024

    USPTO Rejects Apple's Bids To Reexamine Masimo Patents

    Apple has failed to convince examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that there are any new reasons to cancel claims in a pair of patents cited in a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that blocks the tech giant from importing Apple Watches with a blood oxygen sensor.

  • June 06, 2024

    Drugmakers Escape Cancer Drug Antitrust Claims For Now

    A New Jersey federal judge granted drugmakers Celgene and Bristol-Myers Squibb an out from consolidated antitrust litigation accusing them of delaying generic competition to their blockbuster cancer treatments, saying the conduct alleged by a group of insurer plaintiffs fails to amount to anti-competitive conduct.

  • June 06, 2024

    Pharma Co. Misled Investors On Seizure Drug Trial, Suit Says

    Marinus Pharmaceuticals has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company understated the risks of an epilepsy drug trial and did not warn investors that trial enrollment would be suspended when it failed to meet certain criteria.

  • June 06, 2024

    8th Circ. Affirms Cigna Noncompete Applies To CVS Hire

    The Eighth Circuit has backed a lower court finding that blocked a healthcare industry executive from making a move to CVS, handing a win to Cigna in a case over trade secrets.

  • June 06, 2024

    $25 Million Flint Water Class Deal Gets Early OK

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday gave initial approval for a $25 million settlement between a class of Flint adults and businesses and a water engineering company accused of prolonging the town's water crisis, calling the deal fair and an opportunity to avoid years of "exhausting" litigation.

  • June 06, 2024

    Judge OKs $42M Stent IP Verdict, Discards Willfulness Finding

    A Delaware federal judge has said Boston Scientific was not entitled to a new trial in a case where it was told to pay $42 million for stent systems patent infringement, but threw out a finding of willful infringement.

  • June 06, 2024

    FDA Urges High Court To Hear 5th Circ. Flavored E-Cig Case

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its petition for a review of an en banc Fifth Circuit decision overturning its denial of a flavored e-cigarette marketing application, saying this case provides a better vehicle to decide the issues than other petitions at the high court.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals

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    Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Saying What Needs To Be Said

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    Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw examine three recent decisions that delve into the meaning and effect of contractual releases, and demonstrate the importance of ensuring that releases, as written, do what the parties intend.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Del. IP Ruling May Mark Limitation-By-Limitation Analysis Shift

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    A Delaware federal court's recent ruling in Lindis Biotech v. Amgen, which involved complex technology where the complaint contained neither facts nor a specific allegation directed to a claim limitation, might spark a shift away from requiring a limitation-by-limitation analysis, say Ted Mathias and Ian Swan at Axinn.

  • Cell Therapy Cos. Must Beware Limits Of Patent Safe Harbors

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    Though developers of gene and cell therapy products commonly assume that a legal safe harbor protects them from patent infringement suits, recent case law shows that not all preapproval uses of patented technology are necessarily protected, say Natasha Daughtrey and Joshua Weinger at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe

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    A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Opinion

    State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E

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    Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.

  • Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests

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    Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.

  • Assessing HHS' Stance On Rare Disease Patient Assistance

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent advisory opinion, temporarily blessing manufacturer-supported copay funds for rare disease patients, carves a narrow path for single-donor funds, but charities and their donors may require additional assistance to navigate programs for such patients, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Opinion

    Feds' Biotech Enforcement Efforts Are Too Heavy-Handed

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions against biotech companies untether the Anti-Kickback Statute from its original legislative purpose, and threaten to stifle innovation and undermine patient quality of care, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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