North Dakota Drug-Pricing Law Blocked In Pharma Fight

By Hailey Konnath

A North Dakota federal judge on Monday blocked the state's new drug-pricing law, agreeing with pharmaceutical companies that while the law purports to "protect the underdogs," it illegally interferes with the federal drug-pricing regime.

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Analysis

What To Watch As Justices Take On 'Skinny Label' Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether to permit a patent suit over a generic heart drug using a so-called skinny label, a case with ramifications for the drug industry that could shape patent disputes more broadly and other legal areas. Here's what to watch for.

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Did Hedge Fund 'Greed' Hurt Vaxart Investors? Jury To Decide

By Bonnie Eslinger

Armistice Capital and two of its executives used misleading press releases to pump and dump $250 million in Vaxart stock during the pandemic through misleading press releases in an act of pandemic-era "greed," investors' counsel told a California federal jury during closing arguments Monday, while the hedge fund defendants' lawyer countered Vaxart's announcements were "true and accurate."

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DOJ Says Wash. 340B Drug Law Is Preempted In Novartis Suit

By Ben Adlin

The U.S. Department of Justice waded into a dispute between pharmaceutical giants and the state of Washington on Monday, arguing that federal law preempts a new state law that expands discounts that drugmakers must provide under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.

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US, Indian Firms Guide $11.75B Sun Pharma-Organon Deal

By Al Barbarino

Indian pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has agreed to acquire New Jersey-based Organon & Co. in an all-cash deal valued at $11.75 billion, with each side of the transaction having representation from one U.S. and one Indian law firm.

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High Court Appears Split In Monsanto Roundup Appeal

By Emily Field

Monsanto's efforts to stem the tide of thousands of lawsuits over its blockbuster weedkiller Roundup seemed to find a mixed audience with the U.S. Supreme Court justices Monday as they debated the benefits of national labeling standards with how regulators stay on top of changing science.

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Attys, Advocates Call DOJ Pot Rule Historic Shift For Feds

By Mike Curley

Legal strategies are evolving quickly in the wake of last week's "historic" rescheduling of state-legal medical cannabis, as a group of attorneys and advocates gathered Monday to evaluate the trade-offs of dispensaries now being able to register like pharmacies with the feds and the potential effect on industry investments and trade.

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IQVIA Accuses Ex-Execs, Syneos Of Poaching $180M Client

By Abigail Harrison

IQVIA Holdings Inc. is accusing former executives of defecting to a competitor in the clinical research organization industry and initiating a corporate raid that resulted in the loss of one customer worth at least $180 million, according to a lawsuit filed in North Carolina Business Court.

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Moderna Hit With Suit Over CureVac COVID Patents

By Adam Lidgett

BioNTech subsidiary CureVac has launched a new patent infringement suit against Moderna, claiming its COVID-19 vaccine infringed a handful of patents, saying the Massachusetts-based company "exploited" its messenger RNA technology.

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Bioscience Co. Allegedly Hid Volatility Risks From Investors

By Emilie Ruscoe

A company purportedly focused on using traditional Chinese medicine to treat conditions including autism spectrum disorder faces a proposed investor class action alleging it downplayed the risk it would be probed in connection with unusual volatility affecting the market for its shares.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week tackled a fresh mix of deal litigation, procedural disputes and fiduciary duty claims, with several rulings and filings underscoring the court's continued focus on contractual precision, forum enforcement and the limits of stockholder challenges.

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Ropes & Gray, Cooley Lead Lilly's $2.3B Cancer Drug Buy

By Al Barbarino

Eli Lilly and Co. said Monday it will acquire privately held Ajax Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $2.3 billion, as the drugmaker looks to expand its pipeline of treatments for blood cancers.

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4 Firms Build Astorg's $1.1B Microbiology Biz Buy

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. on Monday announced plans to sell its microbiology business to European private equity firm Astorg in an over $1.1 billion deal steered by four law firms.

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3rd Circ. Panel Once Again Backs Talc Co. Whittaker's Ch. 11

By Clara Geoghegan

The Third Circuit on Monday upheld its decision that Whittaker Clark & Daniels was authorized to file for Chapter 11 and certain claims against the defunct talc supplier's corporate successor belong to the debtor, not personal injury claimants.

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McCarter & English Plans New Waterfront Home In Boston

By Jake Maher

New Jersey-based McCarter & English LLP has chosen a new home for its Boston office, opting for a location in the middle of the city's downtown waterfront district, the firm has announced.

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How The Coming Months Will Shape State Drug Price Boards

The future of state prescription drug affordability boards may be determined in the next few months, between an upcoming court decision in a challenge against state authority to set drug prices, and pending state decisions about whether to use federal Medicare maximum fair prices as reference, say Michael Kolber, Steven Chen and Kelechi Ezealaji at Manatt.

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How Food, Beverage Claims May Preview Cosmetic Litigation

Class action litigation targeting cosmetics and personal care products is accelerating, with a playbook that comes from the food and beverage industry — and the defenses that succeeded, and failed, in past class actions offer a critical road map for beauty and personal care brands, say attorneys at Crowell.

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High Court 'Skinny Label' Case Will Matter To Tech Litigators

Hikma v. Amarin, set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, has potential to affect not just generic drug label-based evidence in patent cases, but also how technology inducement cases are presented and proven, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

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ABA Settles Scholarship Suit After Disavowing Racial Criteria

By Grace Elletson

The American Bar Association struck a deal to end a suit claiming a scholarship program for racial and ethnic minorities discriminated against white applicants, in line with a vow it made last year that its programs would be race-neutral, according to a filing Monday in Illinois federal court.

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2nd Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned Over Fla. State Case

By Courtney Bublé

For the second time in a year, a judicial nominee for a Florida federal court is under scrutiny for allegedly presiding over a state level case involving President Donald Trump while being considered for a federal judgeship.

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Reed Smith Targeted In Eletson Gas Ownership Fracas

By Caroline Simson

Reed Smith LLP and two of its partners are facing a $262 million lawsuit in a long-running and bitter dispute over ownership of an international gas shipping company, as well as other issues that remain unresolved following the vacatur of an underlying $102 million arbitral award for fraud.

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Alabama Justices Toss Case Over Atty's AI-Hallucinated Briefs

By Lauren Berg

The Alabama Supreme Court tossed an appeal and sanctioned a Mobile, Alabama, attorney for filing "grossly deficient" briefs that contained multiple inaccurate legal citations that the justices attributed to artificial intelligence "hallucinations."

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Justices Deny Ramey Appeal Of Sanctions In Google IP Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review $255,000 in sanctions on embattled attorney William Ramey and a client for bringing what a California judge said was a frivolous patent suit against Google, turning down his appeal arguing the decision used the wrong legal standard.

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Analysis

How A Rush To Trial Paid Off With A Rare FCPA Acquittal

By Phillip Bantz

A defense strategy to fast-track the trial in a yearslong criminal foreign bribery case against a Mexican businessman in Texas appeared to backfire when he was convicted and sent to prison last year, but the gamble ultimately paid off when a judge permanently tossed the case earlier this month.

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Toss Of Atty's LVMH Claim 'Problematic,' 2nd Circ. Judge Says

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge said Monday that he is having a "hard time" understanding how the firing of a LVMH lawyer wasn't connected to her earlier harassment allegations, indicating a willingness to revive retaliation claims against the luxury goods giant.

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