Life Sciences

  • August 19, 2026

    Trump Taps White House Aide Overton To Lead FDA

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the nomination of White House aide Heidi Overton, an abortion opponent who has urged states to roll back vaccine requirements, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

  • August 19, 2026

    Judge May Trim $88M Covidien Hernia Mesh Verdict

    A Massachusetts federal judge said Wednesday she is "likely" to reduce a jury's recent $88 million verdict in a bellwether hernia mesh lawsuit and encouraged lawyers for an Alabama couple and Covidien LP to consider a settlement.

  • August 18, 2026

    At DC Circ., Pharma's Latest Pricing Loss Has Silver Linings

    The pharmaceutical industry's far-flung crusade against Medicare's new negotiation powers suffered a fresh setback Tuesday as the D.C. Circuit joined sister circuits in upholding the landmark pricing program, but the defeat contained consolation prizes that will fuel further litigation.

  • August 18, 2026

    DC Circ. Revives Part Of Fight Over Braille-Free Drug Label

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday partially vacated a lower court judgment that had upheld the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a label without braille for Teva Pharmaceuticals' generic version of a drug often prescribed to blind people.

  • August 18, 2026

    Mich. Fights Atty Fee Demand in Newborn Blood Spot Lawsuit

    The state of Michigan told a federal judge on Tuesday that the $372,400 in legal fees requested by plaintiffs in a newborn blood spot lawsuit is "excessive" and that an award should be either delayed or significantly lowered.

  • August 18, 2026

    DEA Blasts Marijuana Foes' Objections To Rescheduling

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday told an administrative law judge that federal restrictions should be loosened on marijuana and that opponents of cannabis reform brought a meritless challenge to health regulators' assessment of the drug's medical use.

  • August 18, 2026

    BioMarin Buying Alesta Therapeutics For Up To $490M

    Jones Day-advised BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Alesta Therapeutics for $275 million upfront and up to another $215 million tied to the development and regulatory progress of Alesta's lead drug candidate.

  • August 18, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Kickback Convictions For Pain Doc, Salesman

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the conviction and sentences of a Florida pain doctor and a salesman found guilty of participating in a kickback conspiracy for prescribing a fentanyl spray, ruling prosecutors had "overwhelming" evidence the men knowingly participated in "sham" drug promotion events.

  • August 18, 2026

    Infant Formula MDL Judge Laments Ongoing 'Trial-By-Video'

    The Illinois federal judge handling multidistrict litigation claiming Mead Johnson or Abbott Laboratories infant formula led to a severe gut illness in premature babies deemed it "disappointing" that testimony in an ongoing bellwether trial largely consists of video depositions, warning she won't conduct another unless most witnesses will take the stand in Chicago.

  • August 18, 2026

    Medical Device Exec Cashed In On Bad Quarter, Feds Charge

    A former Treace Medical Concepts executive was arrested on insider trading charges Tuesday, after New York federal prosecutors said he exploited secret warnings about the Florida medical device company's sales and turned a $37,000 profit betting its stock would fall.

  • August 18, 2026

    DLA Piper Taps Weil Partner As New York PE Co-Lead

    DLA Piper has announced it hired a Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP partner to co-lead its private equity practice in New York.

  • August 18, 2026

    ​​​​​​​Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving multibillion-dollar mergers, corporate oversight, founder control, SPAC litigation, commercial contracts and attorney fees.

  • August 18, 2026

    Ga. High Court Sidesteps Key Question In Bio-Lab Fire Case

    Whether Georgia residents who say they were exposed to harmful substances because of a 2024 fire at chlorine manufacturer Bio-Lab's factory can seek medical monitoring in their proposed class action is a question that should be answered in federal court, the Georgia Supreme Court said Tuesday.

  • August 17, 2026

    Albertsons Judge Hears $44B Opioid Abatement Plan In Wash.

    Addressing harm caused by prescription opioid abuse in Washington would cost nearly $44.4 billion, an expert testified Monday during a bench trial in the state's case accusing Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary of exacerbating Washington's overdose crisis by failing to curb the flow of controlled substances.

  • August 17, 2026

    COVID Test-Maker Inks $6.5M Investor Deal Over Sales Slump

    Co-Diagnostics Inc. has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle an investor lawsuit accusing it of overstating the demand for its COVID-19 testing kits two years after the pandemic began.

  • August 17, 2026

    Moderna, Arbutus Clash On Gov't Venue For Vax IP Claims

    Moderna Inc. has accused Arbutus Biopharma Corp. of turning a government contractor indemnification law "upside down" by arguing the COVID-19 vaccine supplier must face infringement litigation, while Arbutus says the government is wielding that relationship to dodge liability in two separate courts.

  • August 17, 2026

    USPTO Backs Double Patent Policy Squires Wants Reviewed

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has urged the Federal Circuit to uphold the rejection of a Sanofi patent application for double patenting, days after USPTO Director John Squires said in a separate case that the policy rationale underlying both disputes should be reconsidered.

  • August 17, 2026

    Home Sauna Kit Burned Consumer, Suit Says

    A New Jersey woman said in a suit filed Friday in Garden State federal court that the water tank in a personal steam sauna suddenly exploded while she was using it, which caused severe and painful burns.

  • August 17, 2026

    Medtech Group Faults Fed. Circ. Trade Secret Timing Rule

    A medical technology trade group and a University of Texas law professor are urging the full Federal Circuit to revisit a decision that wiped out Insulet Corp.'s trade secret win against EOFlow Co. Ltd. after finding the suit untimely, reversing a $452 million jury verdict that had been reduced to $59.4 million.

  • August 17, 2026

    Medtronic Rival Seeks Injunction After $382M Antitrust Win

    Medical device company Applied Medical Resources Corp. has urged a California federal judge to issue final judgment and impose a permanent injunction against Medtronic Inc. that would block contracts a jury found were used to illegally maintain a monopoly over a surgical device, saying that would end Medtronic's "exclusionary conduct and restore competition."

  • August 17, 2026

    Latest Squires Patent Review Order Grants 1, Denies 3

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires granted one petition for an America Invents Act patent review and rejected three others in his latest order on institution decisions.

  • August 17, 2026

    Biotech Asks 1st Circ. To Undo Red Cross Antitrust Immunity

    A biotech firm asked the First Circuit on Friday to undo a district court decision granting the American Red Cross immunity from antitrust allegations, arguing the blood donation giant was wrongly deemed an "instrumentality" of the U.S. government even though it functions as an independent corporation.

  • August 14, 2026

    AstraZeneca Joins States Aiming To Block Ill. 340B Drug Law

    AstraZeneca on Friday joined some other large pharmaceutical companies in urging an Illinois federal court to block a new state law that prohibits drugmakers from restricting the types or number of pharmacies healthcare providers can contract with to provide medications under a federal discount drug program.

  • August 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Says DOJ Subpoenas Can Support Trump Agenda

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday held that President Donald Trump has the authority to direct the U.S. Department of Justice to issue politically motivated subpoenas that align with his broader policy goals, reversing a lower court's ruling quashing a subpoena issued to a gender-affirming medical care provider.

  • August 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Won't Revive Elanco Investors' Securities Fraud Suit

    The Seventh Circuit Friday affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming Elanco Animal Health misled the market by forcing distributors to buy excess inventory to artificially inflate its sales figures, saying it could not draw a strong inference of fraudulent intent by Elanco executives.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • What Justices Are Focusing On In 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

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    Though Hikma v. Amarin appears to be a patent dispute that could reshape inducement doctrine in the pharmaceutical context, oral argument suggests the U.S. Supreme Court may treat this as primarily a pleading-stage dispute, with important unresolved questions lurking beneath the surface, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

  • Accelerated Psychedelic Therapy Pathways Require Caution

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aiming to accelerate the approval of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental health disorders will likely bolster investigational psychedelic therapies, but parties within the psychedelic product supply chain will still need to prepare for potentially burdensome compliance requirements, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • How 10 Years Of Case Law Have Shaped The DTSA

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    As the Defend Trade Secrets Act reaches its 10th anniversary, attorneys at Ropes & Gray examine recent DTSA case law and highlight key takeaways regarding pleading requirements, damages and risk factors.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Ax Privacy Bill For Not Shielding Consumers

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    The SECURE Data Act should be rejected because, despite Congress' claims, it would not meaningfully rein in data practices, but instead would weaken enforcement, eliminate stronger protections and prioritize data extraction over consumer protection and accountability, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

  • Suit's Dismissal Would Not Settle Gold Card Visa's Legality

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    The government’s recent assertion that the plaintiffs in American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security lack standing to challenge the Trump administration’s pay-to-play immigration program does not address whether an agency can deem a million-dollar gift evidence of eligibility for immigration benefits carefully defined by Congress, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Repair USPTO's Inter Partes Review Process

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    To challenge recent changes to the inter partes review process issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Congress must establish clear statutory guardrails, transparency and meaningful judicial review so that questionable patents receive proper scrutiny, say Sean Tu at the University of Alabama, Arti Rai at Duke University and Aaron Kesselheim at Harvard.

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

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    Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How 'Spillover' Effects Can Skew AI Securities Class Actions

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    Event study evidence is often central in securities litigation at class certification and beyond, but in an environment where earnings forecasts and statements can have spillover market implications, particularly when concerning artificial intelligence, the task of parsing out the price impact of news requires careful consideration, say Erik Johannesson, Olivia Wurgaft and Nguyet Nguyen at Brattle Group.

  • Previewing FDA National Priority Vouchers In Psychedelics EO

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelic drug access represents a watershed moment in federal drug policy, but its significance lies in two distinct regulatory pathways, the first being the Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers, which offer a significant opportunity to compress U.S. Food and Drug Administration review, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

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