Life Sciences

  • June 12, 2025

    Roundup Plaintiffs' Rip Of Expert Was Off Base, Jury Hears

    A Missouri jury weighing a Roundup cancer case heard expert testimony Thursday that plaintiffs offered a "remarkable mischaracterization" of a defense expert witness on cancer causation when they said in openings that he was "discredited."

  • June 12, 2025

    Holmes Seeks 2 Year Cut, Commits To Criminal Justice Work

    Elizabeth Holmes has asked a California federal judge to knock two years off her 11-year prison sentence, arguing she's eligible for the adjustment under sentencing guidelines and has spent her time behind bars tutoring and advocating for her fellow prisoners.

  • June 12, 2025

    Florida, Sandoz Say They've Fixed Generic Drug Price-Fix Deal

    The Florida Attorney General's Office and Sandoz Inc. have told a Connecticut federal court they've fixed the problems the court identified with a generic drug price-fixing settlement after other states with claims in the case objected to a clause in the deal.

  • June 12, 2025

    23andMe Ombudsman Not Confident Sale Is Lawful

    The privacy expert probing 23andMe's proposed sale of customers' genetic data in bankruptcy told a Missouri federal judge Wednesday that he couldn't determine the deal wouldn't violate state privacy laws and recommended the company be required to obtain consent from its customers before handing over the data.

  • June 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Upholds Block On Minn. Generic-Drug Price Law

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday backed a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking a Minnesota law that prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from imposing an "excessive" price increase on generic or biosimilar drugs, agreeing that the law is likely unconstitutional in regulating prices charged nationwide.

  • June 12, 2025

    'Forum Shopping' Center Stage At 6th Circ. Drug Pricing Args

    As part of an expansive effort to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review, pharmaceutical industry-backed opponents of Medicare's drug price negotiations entered less-than-hospitable territory at the Sixth Circuit, where judges pointedly questioned a local business group's basis for challenging a national healthcare program.

  • June 12, 2025

    USPTO Tells Fed. Circ. Not To Review Ruling In Xencor Case

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has found that the full Federal Circuit doesn't need to review a decision rejecting Xencor Inc.'s application for an antibody patent, saying that a panel of the appellate court applied the right standard.

  • June 12, 2025

    GlaxoSmithKline Settles Conn. Generic Zantac Suits

    GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday agreed to settle two Connecticut lawsuits, one by seven plaintiffs and the other by 11, that claimed generic forms of the brand name heartburn and acid reflux drug Zantac degraded into a substance that caused cancer.

  • June 12, 2025

    These Firms Are Landing The Most PTAB Work

    Intellectual property powerhouse Fish & Richardson again secured the top spot on a list of firms appearing in the most trials over the past three years in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • June 12, 2025

    Fla.-Based Med Spa Chain Files For Ch. 11 After Expansion

    Contour Spa LLC, a Florida-based chain of fat-burning med spas, filed for Chapter 11 protection after a rapid expansion and a sprawling and decentralized operational system led to financial challenges that ate into revenues.

  • June 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Stubs Out Challenge To FDA Menthol Vape Denial

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday threw out a challenge from SWT Global Supply Inc. to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its application to market menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, saying the agency didn't arbitrarily or capriciously find that the company's sales plan failed to meet its standards for promoting public health.

  • June 12, 2025

    Rising PTAB Filings Follow Surge In Patent Cases

    The number of petitions filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ticked up last year, following a similar increase in federal court litigation and suggesting that activity at the board has somewhat stabilized, according to a new report.

  • June 12, 2025

    Harvard Researcher Held By ICE Over Specimens Released

    A Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national who has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities since February, when frog embryo specimens were found in her luggage at Logan Airport, was released from custody Thursday while she awaits trial on a smuggling charge.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judiciary Committee Clears Squires For Full Senate Vote

    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved former Goldman Sachs intellectual property attorney John Squires to serve as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director on Thursday, putting his nomination in the hands of the full Senate.

  • June 12, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Adds IP Atty From Kilpatrick In NY

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has boosted its intellectual property offerings in New York with the addition of an experienced litigator from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.

  • June 12, 2025

    5 Firms Guide $1.25B BioNTech, CureVac Oncology Deal

    German biotech firm BioNTech SE said Thursday that it will acquire CureVac NV, a clinical-stage mRNA specialist, in an all-stock oncology-focused deal valuing it at about $1.25 billion and involving five legal advisers. 

  • June 12, 2025

    Chancery Tags AstraZeneca Unit For $180M 'Expectation' Loss

    Rejecting calls for a $755 million award, a Delaware vice chancellor ruled late Wednesday that a biopharmaceutical company's shareholders are due $180.9 million in post-merger "expectation damages" plus interest after an AstraZeneca PLC unit's failure to reasonably pursue an acquired drug prospect.

  • June 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Kleenex Ad Fight Belongs In District Court

    Two judges on a Ninth Circuit panel doubted Wednesday that they have jurisdictional authority to revive a putative class action alleging Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s Kleenex Wet Wipes Germ Removal products mislead consumers about its ability to kill germs, saying repeatedly that the consumers' complaint has not met their burden to establish jurisdiction.

  • June 11, 2025

    PTAB Issues Mixed Group Of Discretionary Denial Decisions

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invoked its discretion to free Nike Inc. and Cleveland Medical Devices from having their patents scrutinized, but refused to do so for Vermeer Manufacturing Co.

  • June 11, 2025

    RFK Jr. Picks Vaccine Critics As Part Of CDC Panel Overhaul

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced Wednesday he appointed eight new members to a vaccine advisory panel, just two days after he removed 17 existing members of the panel, which provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • June 11, 2025

    IP, Health Law Scholars Object To 23andMe Ch. 11 Data Sale

    A number of university scholars urged a Missouri bankruptcy judge to require that DNA testing company 23andMe Holding Co.'s asset sale be contingent on the final buyer maintaining policies that benefit biomedical researchers.

  • June 11, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Invalidation Of Agilent CRISPR Patents

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding every claim invalid in two Agilent Technologies patents on the gene-editing tool CRISPR, sealing a win for Synthego Corp., which has been accused of infringing them.

  • June 11, 2025

    PepGen Faces Investor Suit Over Muscular Dystrophy Drug

    Clinical-stage biotech company PepGen Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it misled investors about the efficacy and commercial prospects of its muscular dystrophy drug, causing share price declines as investors learned of the drug's clinical trials' shortcomings.

  • June 11, 2025

    These Firms Are Landing The Most Patent Litigation Work

    Rabicoff Law LLC reclaimed its status as the most active firm for patent plaintiffs, having filed more than twice as many cases in 2024 as it did in 2023, according to a new report from Lex Machina.

  • June 11, 2025

    New Patent Cases Rebound As EDTX Seals Top Venue Spot

    The number of new patent suits filed in 2024 increased 22.2% over 2023, bouncing back from a historically slow year, and the Eastern District of Texas further cemented its status as the most popular patent venue after a rule change made another Texas district less attractive to plaintiffs.

Expert Analysis

  • When Reshoring, IP Issues Require A Strong Action Plan

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    With recent headlines highlighting tariffs as high as 3,521%, more firms will contemplate reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., and they will need to consider important intellectual property issues as part of this complex, expensive and lengthy undertaking, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • 5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Prospects And Challenges For Expert Evidence At The UPC

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    Expert testimony on economic or damages-related issues will likely play a larger part in Unified Patent Court proceedings in the near future, potentially presenting unique challenges for experts, counsel and judges alike, say analysts at Charles River.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

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    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

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    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Parsing A Lack Of Antitrust Info-Sharing Enforcement Clarity

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    Information sharing among competing firms has recently faced dramatic changes in antitrust agency guidance, while courts grapple with the permissible scope of pricing algorithms, leaving companies in limbo, but potential Trump administration changes could offer some reprieve, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • What FCA Liability Looks Like In The Cybersecurity Realm

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    ​Two recent settlements highlight how whistleblowers and the U.S. Department of Justice have been utilizing the False Claims Act to allege fraud predicated on violations of cybersecurity standards — timely lessons given new bipartisan legislation introducing potential FCA liability for artificial intelligence use, say​ attorneys Rachel Rose and Julie Bracker.

  • Foreign Sovereign Entities Should Heed 9th Circ. IP Ruling

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    After the Ninth Circuit recently held that four Chinese state-controlled companies were not immune from criminal indictment for alleged economic espionage, foreign sovereign-controlled entities should assess whether their operations and affiliation with their parent states qualify for sovereign immunity under the common law, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

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    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

  • CMS Guidance May Complicate Drug Pricing, Trigger Lawsuits

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    Recent draft guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes to expand the scope of what counts as the same qualifying single-source drug, which would significantly alter the timeline for modified drugs facing price controls and would likely draw legal challenges from innovator drug companies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Strategies For Litigating In The Unified Patent Court

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    Since opening its gates two years ago, the European Unified Patent Court has transformed the patent litigation landscape and global litigation strategies, but parties seeking to take advantage of the court's robust processes must be prepared for the front-loaded character of UPC proceedings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

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