Life Sciences

March 22, 2024
Robitussin Buyers' Lack Of Receipts Dooms Labeling Cert.

A New York federal judge on Thursday denied class certification in litigation claiming GlaxoSmithKline lied about the "Maximum Strength" label on certain Robitussin cough syrup products, saying although the plaintiffs' lack of receipts does not warrant GSK's bid for summary judgment, it's enough to dismiss the customers' request for certification.
March 22, 2024
Expert's Sanctions Off Limits In SEC's 'Shadow Trading' Trial

A California federal judge overseeing a "shadow trading" trial starting Monday against a pharmaceutical executive ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can't introduce banking sanctions evidence against the defendant's mergers and acquisitions expert as long as he doesn't give opinions on securities law.
March 22, 2024
Pharma Co. Brass Overhyped ALS Drug Efficacy, Suit Says

Executives and directors of neurodegenerative disease drugmaker Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics have been hit with a proposed class action alleging they damaged the company by overstating the effectiveness of its Lou Gehrig's disease drug even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected its license application.
March 22, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Abortion, Jury Trials And Estate Tax

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision expanding access to popular abortion pill mifepristone as well as whether juries should determine a defendants' eligibility for repeat offender enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act and how long federal employees have to appeal adverse employment decisions.
March 22, 2024
Md. University Says Psilocybin Trade Theft Suit Belongs In US

A London-based biochemical company cannot be allowed to escape across the pond with trade secrets related to using psilocybin as a mental health treatment, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, told a federal court, saying the company's minimum contacts with the state was its "months-long fraudulent scheme" to swipe intellectual property.
March 22, 2024
$900M Trade Secrets Case Against Kaiser Foundation Flops

A California state judge has ruled that, after more than five years of litigation against the Kaiser Foundation, a pastor's small medical technology startup cannot "explain what was unique or secret about its conception for transmitting patient data" that was purportedly worth beyond $900 million.
March 22, 2024
Final OK Sought For Economic Loss Deal In CPAP Recall MDL

Users of Philips' recalled CPAP breathing machines have asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to give her final OK to their $467.5 million settlement with the company to cover economic loss claims, arguing only a few objections to the deal remain.
March 22, 2024
Radiology Co., Trustee Must Face Ex-Worker's ESOP Suit

A Colorado federal judge refused to toss a proposed class action accusing a radiology company and its trustee of overcharging the company's employee stock ownership plan in a $163.7 million sale, saying the former workers' complaint puts forward enough details to back up their allegations.
March 22, 2024
Vanda's Obviousness Appeal Isn't Worthwhile, Teva Tells Justices

Teva Pharmaceuticals and Apotex have said the U.S. Supreme Court should reject a petition from Vanda Pharmaceuticals, which said the Federal Circuit "charted its own course" when it invalidated its sleep drug patents as obvious.
March 22, 2024
High Court Mifepristone Battle Goes Beyond Abortion

The first major abortion battle to reach the U.S. Supreme Court since the Dobbs decision is about a lot more than abortion.
March 22, 2024
Ex-Drug Rep Won't Serve More Time After 1st Circ. Victory

The second sentencing of a former Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. salesman did not add a day in prison to the roughly seven months he served before the First Circuit wiped away his initial conviction on charges he schemed to fraudulently sell the company's cholesterol treatment.
March 22, 2024
NJ Appeals Court Shuts Down Fired White Worker's Bias Suit

A New Jersey appeals court backed a life sciences company's win in a former manager's suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for posting statistics about police violence on social media following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, ruling she hadn't shown the company discriminated against white workers.
March 22, 2024
US Greenlights Novartis' $2.9B MorphoSys Takeover

Germany's MorphoSys AG said Friday it has received U.S. antitrust clearance for the biopharmaceutical company's planned $2.9 billion sale to Swiss Pharma giant Novartis AG, a development that clears the final regulatory hurdle needed before closing the deal.
March 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the BBC and Wall to Wall Media hit with a passing off lawsuit by musician BOSSIIE, Poundland parent company Pepco Group file a commercial fraud claim against several mobile network giants, family law specialists Alexiou Fisher Philipps LLP start proceedings against former oil trader Michael Prest, and a transgender lawyer file a libel claim against a blogger. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
March 22, 2024
87-Year-Old Billionaire Lewis Seeks No Jail For Insider Trading

Lawyers for British billionaire Joe Lewis have asked a Manhattan federal judge not to impose any prison time after his plea to insider trading, saying a term of probation is appropriate because the 87-year-old is "nearing the end of life in declining health."
March 22, 2024
Del. Courts Examining 'Colonoscopy'-Like Bylaw Rules

Invasive advance-notice bylaws that some observers say make shareholder board nominations as intrusive as a "colonoscopy" are reviving old questions in Delaware courts about how far boards can go to protect themselves against shareholder activism.
March 22, 2024
LifeCell Cleared Of Liability In NJ Strattice Hernia Mesh Trial

New Jersey state jurors on Friday cleared LifeCell of liability in a Kentucky woman's suit alleging the design of its Strattice surgical mesh is defective and caused a hernia to reoccur and ultimately resulted in "life-altering" surgery, giving the medical device company the first win in a venue with at least 93 pending cases with tort claims over the mesh.
March 21, 2024
SEC's 'Shadow Trading' Trial To Test Insider Info Boundaries

If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can convince jurors hearing its first-ever "shadow trading" case next week to find a former executive in the wrong for buying up a competitor's securities while having insider information about his own company, the floodgates could open to civil and criminal prosecution of other corporate insiders under the novel legal theory, attorneys told Law360.
March 21, 2024
Colo. Distributor Seeks $2.3M Sanction For Stryker Spoilation

A Colorado medical device distributor urged a federal judge to make Stryker and its lawyers pay $2.3 million in attorney fees as sanctions for "pervasive misconduct" throughout discovery and trial, arguing discovery violations will otherwise become the "cost of doing business" for the medical technology giant.
March 21, 2024
Schumer Urges Texas District To Adopt Judge-Shopping Rule

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday urged the chief judge of the Northern District of Texas to quickly implement the Judicial Conference of the United States' updated policy that looks to prevent litigants from judge shopping, arguing that the district's current practices are "dangerous."
March 21, 2024
Ill. Judge Leaves Outcome Health Execs' Convictions Intact

An Illinois federal judge said Thursday that he wouldn't disturb three former Outcome Health executives' convictions for carrying out a massive billion-dollar fraud scheme to grow their health advertising business, saying the jury heard enough evidence to support its verdict.
March 21, 2024
MDL Claims Over Merck's Gardasil Vax Get Trimmed

Pharmaceutical giant Merck need not face many of the claims by patients who allege their autoimmune conditions were caused by its HPV vaccine, a North Carolina federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation ruled, saying the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act bars most claims made in the first two bellwethers.
March 21, 2024
6th Circ. Revives McKee's Network Plan Fight With Thrifty Med

The Sixth Circuit reinstated on Thursday McKee Foods Corp.'s suit against Thrifty MedPlus Pharmacy alleging Tennessee law requiring pharmacy benefit managers to let "any willing pharmacies" participate in a network was preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, finding that amendments made to the statute didn't render McKee's claims moot.
March 21, 2024
Calif. Panel Revives Diner's COVID Sanitization Coverage Bid

A California state appeals court revived a diner's bid for property insurance coverage of COVID-19 losses after it determined the restaurant credibly alleged direct physical losses and that the policy's language covering losses attributable to a virus applied to COVID-19 sanitization efforts.
March 21, 2024
Tribe's Opioid Suit Can Head To State Court, Okla. Judge Says

An Oklahoma federal magistrate judge has granted the Cherokee Nation's bid to move to state court its suit accusing pharmaceuticals distributor Morris & Dickson of flooding the tribe's communities with opioids, saying the company only fulfilled one of four prongs necessary for establishing federal jurisdiction.

Expert Analysis

Trending At The PTAB: 6 Areas To Watch In 2024

Expect further changes in a half-dozen areas in 2024 following a busy 2023 at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, including more adjustments to the director review process and the first case to hit the Appeals Review Panel, say attorneys at Finnegan.
5 Trends That Will Affect Food Litigation In 2024

In 2024, food and beverage companies are likely to continue to face threats of litigation relating to so-called forever chemicals, citric and malic acid, and ESG claims, but recent developments in case law have created potential avenues for defense, say Abby Meyer and Khirin Bunker at Sheppard Mullin.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.
AI Executive Order's Life Science, Healthcare Industry Effects

The recent White House executive order to manage risks associated with artificial intelligence includes provisions specific to healthcare and life sciences that merit special attention, including transparency, human oversight of AI output, and real world performance monitoring, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.
HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
2024 Trends To Watch As AI And IP Litigation Intersect

Just as generative artificial intelligence tools have proven unpredictable, the resulting legal disputes may also hold a few surprises in store for 2024, as intellectual property litigation related to AI inputs, outputs and the tools themselves takes shape, say Philip Warrick and Chengming Liu at Irell & Manella.
9th Circ. Scienter Ruling May Strengthen FDA's Leverage

A recent Ninth Circuit decision in U.S. v. Marschall — regarding scienter and violations of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act — appears to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration another arrow in its quiver to lob in the direction of any repeat offender, with potentially very broad applications, say Elena Quattrone and Zachary Taylor at Epstein Becker.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
What China's New Rare Disease Catalog Means For Drug Cos.

A new list of rare diseases released by the Chinese government may present opportunities for multinational developers of designated orphan drugs to take advantage of preferential policies including exemption from clinical trials, priority review and tax incentives, say attorneys at Zhong Lun Law Firm.
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial

FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.