Deals & Corporate Governance
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April 22, 2025
J&J Ends Trade Secrets Suit Against Now Deceased Ex-Exec
Johnson & Johnson has reached a settlement with the estate of a former executive that it accused of stealing confidential files when he left the company to work for Pfizer, but who died in the middle of the litigation, the parties told a New Jersey federal court.
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April 22, 2025
Trump's Healthcare Order A Mixed Bag For Big Pharma
While Trump's executive order last week is more of a general road map than a clear plan for cutting prices, experts say it signals key policy priorities for the administration — including on a point of serious contention between drug companies and federal regulators.
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April 21, 2025
Sun Pharma Accuses Drugstores Of $10M Refund Scheme
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. told a New Jersey federal court that a group of pharmacies and their operators engaged in a criminal, years-long racketeering scheme that resulted in it paying more than $10 million in refunds for short-dated pharmaceutical products.
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April 18, 2025
PBMs Press 8th Circ. Bid To Pause FTC Case
The nation's "Big Three" pharmacy benefit managers are asking the Eighth Circuit to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house insulin price-fixing case against them, saying that their constitutional challenge to the commission's administrative proceeding process should be fully heard before the in-house case moves forward.
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April 17, 2025
Incyte Can Get Novartis' Privileged Info On Drug Royalty Deal
Novartis must produce certain privileged documents to Incyte concerning its understanding of their contract for royalty payments from sales of Incyte's blood cancer drug, unless Novartis agrees its former outside counsel, who negotiated the terms, won't testify about that topic at the upcoming contract breach trial, a New York federal judge said Thursday.
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April 17, 2025
NC Hospital Operator Can't Escape AG's Merger Suit Yet
A North Carolina Business Court judge rejected HCA Healthcare's bid for a partial win in state Attorney General Jeff Jackson's compliance suit reviewing the company's 2019 purchase of another hospital system, ruling that the purchase agreement's language is too ambiguous to decide the matter without further discovery.
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April 17, 2025
Zenas BioPharma Faces Investor Suit Over Post-IPO Plunge
Autoimmune disease therapeutics company Zenas BioPharma Inc. was hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that its registration statement for its September 2024 initial public offering overstated the amount of time that the company could fund its operations using existing cash and expected net proceeds from the offering.
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April 16, 2025
DexCom Execs Sued For Allegedly Misleading Growth Claims
Executives and directors of glucose monitor manufacturer DexCom Inc. have been hit with a derivative suit alleging that they concealed from investors that DexCom struggled to maintain a sales force that could keep up with growing demand following a Medicare policy expansion.
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April 15, 2025
9th Circ. Told Oregon Hospital Merger Law Flouts Due Process
A hospital trade group urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to block an Oregon law allowing the Oregon Health Authority to review proposed healthcare business consolidations, arguing the law is "unconstitutionally vague" and bestows unlimited power on the agency to block healthcare transactions in the state.
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April 15, 2025
Big Pharma Touts US Investments Amid Tariff Threat
As tariffs loom on the horizon, Big Pharma companies laud their plans to ramp up U.S. manufacturing — even as they're set to eat costs for the foreseeable future.
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April 15, 2025
McGuireWoods Immune From Defamation Case, NC Panel Told
McGuireWoods LLP and a former partner have told a North Carolina state appeals court that they have absolute privilege over allegedly defamatory statements made in connection with an investigation into the former CEO of a managed care organization, arguing that the trial court should have granted them a pretrial win.
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April 15, 2025
Kirkland-Led Linden Wraps $5.4B Healthcare-Focused Fund
Healthcare-focused private equity shop Linden Capital Partners, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Tuesday announced that it clinched its sixth fund with $5.4 billion of capital commitments.
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April 11, 2025
saąúĽĘ´«Ă˝ To Pull Medical Debt Opinion, May Ax Nonbank Registry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that it will scrap recent guidance aimed at reining in medical debt collectors and may close out its new national nonbank enforcement registry, extending the agency's pullback from its Biden-era policies.
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April 11, 2025
Dentsply Brass Face Investor Suit Over Alleged Dental Injuries
Executives and directors of dental supply manufacturing company Dentsply Sirona Inc. have been hit with a derivative suit alleging they concealed that a company subsidiary was approving unsuitable patients for dental treatments to inflate sales figures.
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April 11, 2025
NC AG Can't Shield Most Merger Review Docs, Judge Holds
The North Carolina Attorney General's Office can't shield a host of internal records pertaining to its review of a 2019 hospital merger at the center of a compliance case, a state court judge has said, finding "only a few" records constitute protected attorney-client communications or work product.
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April 11, 2025
Aurinia Sues Lotus Alleging Lupus Drug Patent Infringement
Kidney-focused biotech Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Friday launched a lawsuit in New Jersey federal court claiming that Lotus Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s bid to sell a generic form of Aurinia's lupus nephritis treatment Lupkynis infringes a pair of patents.
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April 11, 2025
5th Circ. Revives Unfair Competition Fight Over Arthritis Drug
The Fifth Circuit has revived Zyla Life Sciences LLC's lawsuit seeking to block Texas rival Wells Pharma from selling rheumatoid arthritis drug suppositories that aren't U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved, rejecting Wells Pharma's argument that Zyla's state claims are preempted under federal law and noting that finding otherwise would have "staggering" implications.
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April 11, 2025
Future Pak Goes Public With $255M Theratechnologies Bid
Pharmaceutical manufacturer and packager Future Pak LLC, advised by Honigman LLP, on Friday publicly unveiled its proposal to acquire pharmaceutical company Theratechnologies Inc. for up to $255 million, a move that comes after Future Pak has received "minimal engagement" from the other company.
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April 08, 2025
Iowa Hospital's Decline Gets Close Look In Bankruptcy Case
The former operator of a now-bankrupt Iowa hospital is facing scrutiny over allegations the hospital suffered massive operating losses while paying some $9 million to the operator in fees in the years before its financial collapse.
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April 08, 2025
Healthcare IPOs Take Another Hit Amid Trump Tariff War
Hopes for an improving healthcare public market all but vanished after a sweeping tariffs announcement from Washington set off a wave of market volatility.
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April 08, 2025
Pacira Reaches IP Deal Allowing Generic Painkiller In 2030
Pacira BioSciences has agreed to settle a series of patent infringement lawsuits against Fresenius Kabi and other pharmaceutical companies over Pacira's drug Exparel, a long-acting injectable for managing postsurgical pain.
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April 08, 2025
Hospital Operator Gets 'Burdensome' Antitrust Info Bid Pared
A North Carolina federal judge has pared HCA Healthcare Inc.'s subpoenas to a hospital network in a consolidated antitrust case accusing it of hiking Tar Heel State public employees' health insurance costs, putting a two-hour time limit on the depositions it sought and cutting three years of requested information.
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April 08, 2025
Pharmaceutical Tariff Exemption Is No End to Cost Threat
The life sciences industry escaped much of the immediate impact of President Donald Trump's market-shaking tariff order, thanks to the inclusion of a single word on an exemption list — "pharmaceuticals." The relief may not last long.
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April 08, 2025
Facing Private Equity Pressures, Doctors Head Back To School
As private equity continues to reach into the healthcare space, some doctors are joining physician-focused MBA programs, honing new skills to better compete in a rapidly changing business.
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April 08, 2025
Longtime Cooley Life Sciences Ace Jumps To Wilson Sonsini
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC has hired a former Cooley LLP partner for its corporate department to strengthen the services offered by its life sciences practice, it announced on Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Beware Privacy Risks In Training AI Models With Health Data
Because data used to train artificial intelligence models may be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or other regulations, users of these models should conduct proper diligence to avoid costly compliance failures, say Neha Matta and Barbara Bennett at Frost Brown.
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Unpacking GAO's FY 2023 Bid Protest Report
The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recent bid protest report reflects an increase in sustained protests, illustrating that disappointed offerors may see little reason to refrain from seeking corrective action — but there is more to the story, say Aron Beezley and Patrick Quigley at Bradley Arant.
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How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners
A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.
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Earnout Contract Considerations After NC Good Faith Ruling
The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent Value Health Solutions v. Pharmaceutical Research decision, holding the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing did not apply in an earnout dispute related to an asset sale, demonstrates the need for practitioners to pay careful attention to milestone concepts in M&A transactions, says Benjamin Hicks at Wagner Hicks.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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ESG Around The World: The UK
Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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It's Time To Prescribe Frameworks For AI-Driven Health Care
As health care providers begin to adopt artificial intelligence in clinical settings, new legal and regulatory challenges are emerging, with the critical issue being balancing AI's benefits and innovations in health care while ensuring patient safety and provider accountability, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Preparing For Higher Health Transaction Standards In Calif.
The California Office of Health Care Affordability's revised draft regulations on the reporting of health care transactions incorporate useful improvements to the regulatory scheme, but also contain provisions that may cause concerns for parties contemplating covered transactions, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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How Ill. Supreme Court Could Shape Statutory Violation Cases
In Fausett v. Walgreens, the Illinois Supreme Court will take up the question of whether a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement, and any outcome could significantly change the litigation landscape in Illinois, say Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua Zhao at Freeman Mathis.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.