Deals & Corporate Governance

  • February 23, 2024

    Eye Care Tech Co. Gets Go-Ahead For April Sale In Ch. 11

    A Texas bankruptcy judge said Friday she will approve sale procedures that will put a troubled optometry software maker on the block in April, after the debtor said it will give creditors a few more days to respond if it decides to name a stalking horse bidder.

  • February 22, 2024

    North Carolina Hospitals Can't Exit Monopoly Claims

    Two healthcare companies cannot escape a consolidated antitrust suit claiming that a North Carolina hospital system drove up the price of health insurance for public employees, as a federal judge has found that the claims plausibly allege that the anti-competitive conduct occurred within the time window to sue.

  • February 22, 2024

    Biotech VC Firm ORI Capital Closes $260M Fund

    Biotech venture capital firm ORI Capital announced Thursday that it has closed a $260 million fund to invest in early-stage biotech companies globally.

  • February 22, 2024

    Locke Lord Settles Failed Health Plan Malpractice Suit

    Locke Lord LLP has reached a settlement to resolve a health plan fiduciary's malpractice suit alleging the firm provided bad legal advice that doomed the plan, permanently ending an Illinois federal suit first filed in 2018.

  • February 21, 2024

    Actelion Cites FDA Safety Rules Against Tracleer Antitrust Suit

    Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said federal rules controlling distribution of potentially dangerous drugs spare it from antitrust litigation over its hypertension drug Tracleer, arguing it was required to deny needed samples to would-be generic competitors until they presented the right certification of safeguards.

  • February 21, 2024

    Calif. Bill Would Let AG Audit Private Equity Healthcare Deals

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Wood have filed legislation that will give the state's AG oversight of private equity and hedge fund acquisitions of healthcare facilities, saying that private equity is causing soaring consumer costs.

  • February 21, 2024

    JPMorgan Got $400M Before Inovalon Sale, Del. Justices Hear

    Inovalon didn't properly disclose that investors that bought the healthcare data company in 2021 paid $400 million in fees to its financial adviser, a JPMorgan unit, before the transaction, a reason enough to revive a lawsuit challenging the $7.3 billion acquisition, counsel for stockholders told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday.

  • February 20, 2024

    US Trustee Wants Sorrento Ch. 11 Tossed Or Relocated

    The U.S. Trustee's Office has moved to have Sorrento Therapeutics' Chapter 11 case dismissed, alleging the biopharmaceutical company manufactured a venue in Texas bankruptcy court, even as the debtor asked for court approval to sell off its assets to its CEO under a revised reorganization plan.

  • February 20, 2024

    Biology AI Startup Bioptimus Raises $35M Seed Round

    Artificial intelligence startup Bioptimus has raised $35 million to build an AI foundational model focused on biology, the company announced Tuesday.

  • February 20, 2024

    $71M Deal Proposed To End Premier Inc. Share Exchange Suit

    Healthcare-purchasing giant Premier Inc. has agreed to a $71 million settlement of a derivative stockholder suit in Delaware's Chancery Court that challenged a $473.5 million payout in a 2020 restructuring, with stockholder attorneys seeking an award of up to $14 million in fees.

  • February 20, 2024

    Latham Adds Cooley Company Growth Pros In San Francisco

    Latham & Watkins LLP is expanding its West Coast corporate team, announcing Tuesday that it is bringing in a pair of Cooley LLP experts in emerging-growth companies as partners in its San Francisco Bay Area offices.

  • February 16, 2024

    Chromocell Hits Stock Markets Following $6.6M IPO

    Clinical-stage biotechnology company Chromocell Therapeutics Corp. began trading publicly on Friday after raising $6.6 million in its initial public offering, becoming the latest in a flurry of biotech IPOs.

  • February 15, 2024

    Citadel Securities, Others Beat Biotech Spoofing Suit, For Now

    A New York federal judge has adopted in full a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss a suit accusing several broker-dealers, including Citadel Securities LLC and Virtu Americas LLC, of carrying out a spoofing scheme that repeatedly drove a biotechnology company's share price down, saying he agrees with the report's finding that the suit fails to show that the alleged scheme caused lower stock prices in every instance.

  • February 15, 2024

    HCA Says NC Hospital's Standard Of Care Hasn't Changed

    For-profit hospital network HCA Management Services has fired back at claims of rampant mismanagement at its Asheville, North Carolina, hospital, saying the state attorney general's office has made accusations about the quality of care that aren't based on the terms agreed to when HCA bought the hospital four years ago.

  • February 15, 2024

    Invitae Can Use Cash Collateral For Speedy Ch. 11

    Bankrupt genetic testing company Invitae Corp. on Thursday got the approval of a New Jersey bankruptcy court for routine first-day motions as it moves toward a planned April auction of its assets.

  • February 15, 2024

    Freenome Raises $254M For Early Cancer Detection Tests

    Cancer-focused biotechnology company Freenome said Thursday it has raised $254 million from investors to advance cancer detection tests in its pipeline.

  • February 15, 2024

    Aurinia Refocusing After Failed Effort To Find A Buyer

    Kidney-focused biotech Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is hitting pause on drug development, cutting jobs and initiating a $150 million stock buyback program, the company disclosed in its year-end financial report Thursday.

  • February 15, 2024

    Lawmakers Push PE Firm For Answers On Steward Health

    A group of lawmakers demanded answers from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management on Thursday over its relationship with financially troubled Steward Health Care-owned hospitals in Massachusetts, saying that Steward's recent collapse is a "textbook example" of the "grave risks" that come with private equity takeover of the healthcare system.

  • February 15, 2024

    FTC's Khan Calls Healthcare 'Key' To Fight For Competition

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan told a conference of physicians the agency is fighting corporate control at several levels of the healthcare industry, touting the sector as a key battleground in the administration's push for more competition across the economy.

  • February 14, 2024

    FTC Seeks Info On 'Powerful Middlemen' Amid Drug Shortages

    The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that they are seeking information on whether legal exemptions for "middlemen" in the generic pharmaceutical market are driving ongoing drug shortages.

  • February 14, 2024

    Adagio Medical Goes Public In $128M SPAC Merger

    Adagio Medical, a catheter ablation tech maker, and Arya Sciences, a special purpose acquisition company, said on Wednesday that they would merge, taking the combined company public at a $128 million value, guided by respective legal adviser Reed Smith and Kirkland.

  • February 14, 2024

    Pharma Co. Humanigen Gets OK For Ch. 11 Sale

    Drug researcher Humanigen Inc. can sell nearly all of its assets to a company formed by its CEO, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday, after the debtor, the buyer and the official committee of unsecured creditors struck a deal resolving objections to the Chapter 11 sale.

  • February 14, 2024

    Settlements of 3 Drug Cos. Get Prelim OK In Price-Fixing MDL

    A Pennsylvania federal judge granted preliminary approval Wednesday to settlements in which two makers and one distributor of generic drugs agreed to pay a combined $45 million to resolve allegations they colluded to fix the prices of medications, including those used to treat glaucoma, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

  • February 14, 2024

    Biotech Nabs $200M Via Private Placement, Starts CEO Search

    Public gene therapy company enGene Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday that it will sell 20 million of its common shares, raising an anticipated private placement of around $200 million, to fund the development of its lead compound EG-70.

  • February 14, 2024

    KKR Buys Stake In Health Tech Biz Cotiviti At $10.5B Valuation

    Private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. has agreed to acquire a stake in healthcare analytics company Cotiviti from Veritas Capital, Cotiviti announced Wednesday, in a deal valuing the target at about $10.5 billion.

Expert Analysis

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • FTC Settlements Widen Efforts To Shield Health Data

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement actions aim to send a clear message that companies using tracking technologies should carefully monitor the sharing of sensitive data, particularly in the mental health, substance use disorder treatment and reproductive health care fields, say attorneys at Choate.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

  • HHS Neuromonitoring Advisory May Have Broad Relevance

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    The Health Department Office of Inspector General's recent advisory opinion rejecting a neuromonitoring service's proposal for a shell arrangement isn't surprising, but it could be a harbinger of more warnings against problematic joint venture arrangements to come, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Merger Proposals Reflect Agency Leaders' Antitrust Principles

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    Attorneys at Covington trace the recently proposed Hart-Scott-Rodino and merger guidelines changes to certain foundational concerns of the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division leadership, including issues related to concentration associated with horizontal and vertical mergers.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • Challenging Standing In Antitrust Classes: The Uninjured

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    In virtually every antitrust class action, parties at the certification phase disagree about whether the proposed class includes uninjured members, but the goals of Rule 23 and judicial economy are best served by synthesizing two distinct approaches circuit courts take on this issue, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.

  • What Big Tobacco's Cannabis Investments Mean For Market

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    The tobacco industry appears to be shoring up investments in the cannabis market, most recently with Philip Morris’ purchase of an Israeli cannabis tech company, pointing to a bright future for vaped and noncombustible products, and signaling that marijuana rescheduling may be on the horizon, say Slates Veazey and Whitt Steineker at Bradley Arant.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Merger Review Overhaul Could Affect Health Industry

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    For those in the health care industry considering growth and expansion strategies, the antitrust agencies' recent proposals for new Hart-Scott-Rodino rules and more complex merger guidelines will increase deal timelines, the merging parties' burden, and overall uncertainty and potential antitrust risk as to the outcome, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

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    Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Personnel Loss, Conflicts, Timeliness

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Locke Bell at MoFo highlights recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, addressing an offeror's loss of key personnel, organizational conflicts of interest arising out of reliance on former government employees in preparing a bid, and protest timeliness when no debriefing is required.