Life Sciences

  • December 20, 2024

    The Most Significant Trade Secrets Cases Of 2024

    Insulet Corp. became the latest company to notch a colossal trade secrets award, and a new presidential administration has attorneys wondering what will become of the Federal Trade Commission's pending proposal to ban employee noncompete agreements. Here's a look at trade secrets cases that defined 2024 and what to expect from the FTC in the coming year.

  • December 20, 2024

    Top Product Liability Cases Of 2024

    Some of the top cases for product liability for 2024 include an Ohio Supreme Court ruling on opioids and public nuisance, baby formula trials and an appellate decision in Fosamax litigation. 

  • December 20, 2024

    Psychedelics Law Reformers Hit Multiple Setbacks In 2024

    In 2024, advocates, physicians and researchers attempted to broaden lawful access to federally illegal psychedelic drugs through a variety of avenues — the new drug approval process, litigation and a ballot initiative — with the upshot that the law remains largely unchanged and, for the most part, still restricts legal use and possession of these substances.

  • December 20, 2024

    Fla. Labs Appeal $7.3M Conn. Jury Verdict Favoring Cigna

    Three Florida substance abuse testing laboratories filed notice Thursday promising to appeal a $7.3 million loss to Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. over billings for recurring tests on drug treatment patients the insurer said were not medically necessary.

  • December 20, 2024

    Top Privacy & Cybersecurity Developments Of 2024

    The state data privacy law patchwork continued to add new and varied pieces in 2024, while major hacks shook up the healthcare industry and other critical sectors, and the first U.S. laws setting guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence technologies emerged.

  • December 20, 2024

    7th Circ. Upholds $900K Punitive Damages Award In TM Case

    The Seventh Circuit has affirmed $900,000 in punitive damages against a nutritional company and its owners for infringing the "Diesel Test" trademark of a testosterone-boosting product from a former competitive body builder, saying the defendant's conduct merited the award.

  • December 20, 2024

    Capital Markets Attorneys Ready For Reset After Bumpy 2024

    Capital markets activity — initial public offerings especially — posted a hesitant recovery in 2024, marginally increasing over prior-year levels before pausing altogether during a heated presidential election and postponing attorneys' hopes for a stronger rebound until 2025.

  • December 19, 2024

    Ex-Biopharma Exec Settles SEC Insider Trading Claim

    A former biopharmaceutical executive will pay nearly $156,000 to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he bought up shares of his employer's acquisition target and the target's shareholder ahead of the announcement of the acquisition.

  • December 19, 2024

    Judge Says Some Paraquat Plaintiffs Being Left In Dark

    Amid a hearing targeting fall 2025 for a first bellwether trial over the alleged link between the pesticide paraquat and Parkinson's disease, an Illinois federal judge told plaintiffs' lawyers to keep in better touch with their clients after her chambers received calls from plaintiffs wondering what's happening with their cases.

  • December 19, 2024

    PhRMA Wins Bid To Halt W.Va. Drug Discount Expansion Law

    The country's biggest pharmaceutical lobbying group has won preliminary injunctions against a West Virginia law that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claims unconstitutionally expands a federal drug discount program, with a federal judge finding that the law threatens to create a situation where "the fox guards the henhouse."

  • December 19, 2024

    FTC Says PBMs Can't Get Preliminary Block In Insulin Case

    The Federal Trade Commission urged a Missouri federal judge Thursday not to temporarily block its in-house case accusing pharmacy benefits managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes, arguing Congress clearly empowered such in-house adjudications and the officials who handle them.

  • December 19, 2024

    Foley Adds Tech, Life Sciences Partner From IP Boutique

    Foley & Lardner LLP has hired a longtime partner from intellectual property boutique Lerner David LLP to strengthen both the transactional and litigation arms of its technology and life science practices in New York.

  • December 19, 2024

    Judge Wrongly Axed $107M IP Verdict, Pfizer Tells Fed. Circ.

    A Pfizer unit has told the Federal Circuit that a federal judge got it wrong when he overturned a Delaware jury verdict that AstraZeneca owes $107.5 million for infringing two cancer drug patents.

  • December 19, 2024

    Biotech Co. Hid Eye Drug's Safety Risks, Investor Says

    A biotech company concealed the potential risks that emerged during clinical trials of a drug meant to treat age-related vision degradation, according to an investor complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court Thursday.

  • December 19, 2024

    Medical Supplies Giant, Drone Operator File Confidential IPOs

    Private equity-backed medical supplies giant Medline Inc. and drone operator Airo Group Holdings Inc. said Thursday that they confidentially filed plans for initial public offerings with regulators, joining a growing pipeline of IPO prospects for 2025.

  • December 19, 2024

    McKesson Urges Justices To Keep Hobbs Act's 'Exclusivity'

    McKesson Corp. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve circuit courts' "exclusive" jurisdiction for Federal Communications Commission orders, warning that regulatory consistency nationwide could be undermined if lower courts are allowed to step in.

  • December 19, 2024

    Medical Device Investors Get Final OK On $15M Deal

    A North Carolina federal judge has given final approval to a $15.25 million settlement that will resolve a suit claiming Bioventus Inc. misled investors about its internal controls and financial health and its readiness to implement new Medicare regulations, leading to inflated stock prices, along with $5 million in attorney fees.

  • December 19, 2024

    Generic-Drug Cos. Get State AGs' Trial Order Flipped

    A Connecticut federal court has sided with the generic-drug makers accused of price-fixing by state-level enforcers and will allow a narrower case involving 15 drugs to move ahead prior to a much broader case involving more than 100 medications.

  • December 19, 2024

    Labcorp Settles Competition Suit Against Ex-Sales Exec

    Less than two weeks after Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings sued its former sales marketing executive and his new employer in North Carolina federal court for allegedly violating noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, a deal has been reached to end the lawsuit.

  • December 19, 2024

    FDA Declaration May Restart Compounders' Shortage Suit

    Federal regulators pulled Eli Lilly's lucrative weight-loss and diabetes drug off the national shortage list Thursday and gave compounding pharmacists two months to stop making copycat versions of the injectable medication, a move with the potential to reignite a Texas legal clash.

  • December 19, 2024

    Fresenius Loses Invalidity Argument In Nausea Drug IP Fight

    Fresenius Kabi USA LLC has lost its arguments in Delaware federal court that claims in a pair of Heron Therapeutics patents for a nausea drug were invalid, keeping Fresenius' generic from entering the market for around a decade.

  • December 19, 2024

    Philips CPAP Suits Against SoClean Tossed From MDLs

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has tossed two complaints from Philips RS North America against SoClean Inc. from multidistrict litigation stemming from a CPAP machine recall, saying one would disrupt the wrap-up of the MDL surrounding Philips' products, while the other should not have been filed directly into the SoClean MDL.

  • December 18, 2024

    Pharma Trial Consultant To Pay SEC $3M Over Insider Trading

    An oncologist and clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $3 million to resolve allegations he purchased shares in a Massachusetts biotech company based on insider information regarding a clinical trial he was overseeing, the SEC announced Wednesday.

  • December 18, 2024

    Vaxart Investors Win Class Cert. Over COVID Shot On 2nd Try

    A California federal judge has certified a class of Vaxart investors accusing the biotechnology company's onetime controlling shareholder of dumping stock at inflated prices following deceptive headlines about a COVID-19 vaccine, saying the investors' revised motion fixes issues of predominance and the damages model.

  • December 18, 2024

    Patent Limits For Biosimilar Litigation Lands In Spending Bill

    Congress' spending package to keep the government open through March would also limit how many patents a biologics maker can assert when trying to prevent a competitor from getting on the market.

Expert Analysis

  • The Licensure Landscape For Psychedelics Manufacturers

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    As the need for bulk manufacturing of psychedelic substances grows, organizations aiming to support clinical trials or become commercial suppliers must navigate a rigorous and multifaceted journey to obtaining a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Jaime Dwight at Promega Corp.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.

  • Leveraging Policy Changes To Achieve AI Patent Eligibility

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    With the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidance in hand and legislation looming in Congress, innovators should file their artificial intelligence patent applications now — and five strategies can maximize their chances of success, says Nicholas Gallo at Troutman Pepper.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Series

    Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.

  • Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing

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    Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • The Regulatory Headwinds Facing Lab-Developed Tests

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final rule regarding regulation of laboratory-developed tests outlines a four-year plan for ending enforcement discretion, and though this rule is currently being challenged in courts, manufacturers should heed compliance opportunities immediately as enforcement actions are already on the horizon, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.

  • 3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics

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    Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    A New Way Forward For COVID Vaccine Lawsuit Immunity

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    As Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act protections for COVID-19 vaccines wane, adding those vaccines to coverage by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program would bolster defenses for administrators and manufacturers while also providing stronger remedies for those injured by vaccines, says Altom Maglio at MCT Law.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Parsing FY 2024 DOJ Criminal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement

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    While the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division's strike force on healthcare fraud enforcement action shows an impressive doubling of criminal indictments, a closer look at the data offers important clues about underlying trends, including the comparably modest, accompanying increase in associated intended loss, say Roderick Thomas and Kathleen Cooperstein at Wiley.

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