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Life Sciences

  • June 10, 2025

    Ayahuasca Church Brings Religious Use Case To DC Circ.

    An Iowa church that seeks to use a psychedelic drug in its rites filed a petition Monday with the D.C. Circuit seeking to compel federal drug enforcers to process an application for a religious exemption to the Controlled Substances Act, which has been pending for over six years.

  • June 10, 2025

    Merck Gets PTAB To Nix Johns Hopkins Cancer Drug Patent

    Merck & Co. Inc. subsidiary Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC has notched a win at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in its disagreement with Johns Hopkins University over a cancer research partnership, persuading a panel to invalidate claims in a university-owned patent relating to a colorectal cancer treatment.

  • June 10, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery showed new resistance to suits alleging corporate weaponizing of advance notice bylaws, and a new report highlighted the high fees that attorneys are cashing in on in Delaware courts compared to the federal court system. Several new suits were also filed concerning allegedly under- or overvalued sales and acquisitions being pushed through.

  • June 10, 2025

    Neurocrine Loses Suit Challenging Hormone Treatment Patent

    Neurocrine Biosciences has lost its attempt in Delaware federal court to invalidate a patent owned by biotechnology company Spruce Biosciences Inc. relating to the treatment of a hormonal disorder, after a federal judge tossed the lawsuit.

  • June 10, 2025

    Biopharma Co. Unit Hopes To Shed Empty Facilities In Ch. 11

    A subsidiary of biopharmaceutical manufacturer National Resilience Holdco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection Tuesday in Delaware bankruptcy court with a reorganization plan involving shutting down offices, manufacturing sites and labs it described as "underutilized."

  • June 10, 2025

    Reed Smith Int'l Arbitration Pro Jumps To Bracewell In NYC

    Bracewell LLP has added an international arbitration practitioner with more than two decades of BigLaw experience across a range of industries and locations, including most recently as a partner at Reed Smith LLP, to its New York roster, as the firm looks to grow the practice area.

  • June 09, 2025

    Judge To Limit Experts in Biogen, Genentech Drug Royalty Trial

    A California federal judge Monday laid out the ground rules for an upcoming high-stakes jury trial between Biogen and Roche Holding AG subsidiary Genentech over patent royalties on multiple sclerosis drug sales, giving each side nine hours to argue their case and saying she plans to limit expert testimony.

  • June 09, 2025

    Acadia Win On Parkinson's Drug Patent Upheld By Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld the validity of an Acadia Pharmaceuticals Parkinson's disease drug patent, saying the result was compelled by double-patenting precedent the court set last year, but generics maker MSN Laboratories has suggested it may seek en banc review.

  • June 09, 2025

    RFK Jr. Fires CDC's Entire 17-Member Vaccine Advisory Panel

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of the committee that provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pledging to replace them with his preferred picks.

  • June 09, 2025

    Chinese Student Accused Of Smuggling Roundworms To US

    A Chinese student pursuing a doctoral degree in Wuhan has been charged with smuggling roundworms to recipients associated with a University of Michigan laboratory and lying to federal agents about it, according to an announcement Monday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

  • June 09, 2025

    Gov't Seeks $706M Penalty In FCA Case Against Omnicare, CVS

    The government asked a New York federal judge to impose a collective $706 million in civil penalties on Omnicare Inc. and its parent, CVS Health Corp., after a jury found that they submitted millions of false billing claims for healthcare programs.

  • June 09, 2025

    Edwards Can't Get Fed. Circ. To Overrule PTAB Amendments

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightly held that amended claims of a Cardiovalve Ltd. heart valve implant aren't invalid, the Federal Circuit affirmed Monday.

  • June 09, 2025

    Investment Firm Lead Admits To Insider Trading Biotech Stock

    The former head of equity trading at Denver-based capital markets firm Irving Investors LLC admitted to receiving insider information on multiple companies and using that nonpublic knowledge to guide trading decisions to make an unlawful $220,912 profit, Connecticut U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan announced.

  • June 09, 2025

    5th Amendment Can't Shield Ex-Exec, Drugmakers Argue

    Generic-drug makers urged a Pennsylvania court to compel a former executive to sit for a deposition in ongoing price-fixing litigation despite his invocation of the Fifth Amendment, arguing his testimony is crucial to their defense.

  • June 09, 2025

    Fitch Even's Ex-IP Client Wants Firm's Patent Suit Tossed

    Prenatal-Hope Inc. and its chief executive officer are asking an Illinois federal judge to dismiss a suit in which law firm Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP seeks a declaration that the CEO isn't the inventor behind a prenatal test patent.

  • June 09, 2025

    Sheppard Mullin Adds Perkins Coie IP Trio In DC, Chicago

    Three Perkins Coie LLP intellectual property partners with deep experience representing clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related industries have jumped to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

  • June 09, 2025

    AI-Powered Cancer Diagnostics Firm Targets $400M IPO

    Caris Life Sciences Inc., a developer of artificial-intelligence enhanced cancer diagnostic tests, on Monday launched plans for an estimated $400 million initial public offering, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP and underwriters counsel Cooley LLP.

  • June 09, 2025

    HI Gov. Eyes Veto Of Medical Pot Bill Over Privacy Concerns

    Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has signaled that he intends to veto a bill modifying the state's medical marijuana program, saying that it would impinge the privacy rights of the Aloha State's medical cannabis patients.

  • June 09, 2025

    Rite Aid Gets Stay Of Appeals From Its Earlier Bankruptcy

    The New Jersey bankruptcy judge overseeing Rite Aid's current insolvency case pressed pause Monday on appeals of orders he entered last year in the drugstore chain's previous Chapter 11.

  • June 09, 2025

    Legal, Compliance Heads Named In Mallinckrodt-Endo Merger

    Ahead of finalizing their $6.7 billion merger, Ireland's Mallinckrodt PLC and Pennsylvania-based Endo Inc. announced that Mallinckrodt's current chief legal officer and Endo's chief compliance officer will be a part of the executive team that will drive the formation of what the companies said will be a global pharmaceutical industry leader.

  • June 09, 2025

    Husch Blackwell Hires 5 Quarles & Brady Life Sciences Pros

    Amid its efforts to grow in the life sciences space, Husch Blackwell LLP announced Monday that it has brought on three lawyers and two non-attorney professionals from Quarles & Brady LLP.

  • June 06, 2025

    Masimo Fights Ex-CEO's Bid To Ax Suit Over $450M Demand

    Masimo Corp. fought back against founder Joe Kiani's motion to dismiss the company's Delaware Chancery Court suit seeking a declaration that he's not due a $450 million payout after his ouster as CEO, arguing that bid is an "improper attempt to evade" the Delaware court's jurisdiction.

  • June 06, 2025

    Patent Office Leader Rejects IPRs Based On 12-Year Wait

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart on Friday turned away a series of challenges to Welch Allyn Inc.'s heart monitor patents, determining petitioner iRhythm Technologies Inc. should have disputed them much earlier.

  • June 06, 2025

    Circle's Smash IPO Could Pave Way For More Crypto Listings

    Stablecoin issuer Circle's explosive debut will likely stimulate more crypto listings and possibly jolt the broader pipeline of initial public offerings, capital markets attorneys say.

  • June 06, 2025

    Justices Reject Eligibility Appeal On Telemedicine Patents

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Friday to review a decision that telemedicine patents asserted against the U.S. government are invalid for claiming only abstract ideas, in the court's latest refusal to reconsider the standard for determining if inventions are eligible for patents.

Expert Analysis

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

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    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

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    For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Kiromic SEC Order Shows Importance Of Self-Reporting

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently filed settled charges against Kiromic BioPharma illustrate the critical intersection between U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory processes and investor disclosures under the securities laws, and showcase how responding promptly to internal whistleblower reports may reap benefits, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • 2025 May Be A Breakout Year For The Cannabis Industry

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    The cannabis industry faced a slow and frustrating 2024, but consumer trends continue to shift in favor of cannabis, and the new administration may provide the catalyst that the industry needs, says Lynn Gefen at TerrAscend.

  • FDA's Red No. 3 Ban Reshapes Food Safety Legal Landscape

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent ban on Red No. 3 represents more than the end of a controversial dye — it signals a shift in regulatory priorities, consumer expectations, intellectual property strategy, compliance considerations and litigation risk, says Dino Haloulos at Foley Mansfield.

  • Scope And Nature Of Judicial Relief Will Affect Loper's Impact

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    The practical result of post-Loper Bright rulings against regulatory actions will depend on the relief courts grant — and there has been controversy in these types of cases over whether the ruling is applied just to the parties or nationwide, and whether the action can be left in place while it's corrected, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • The Implications Of E-Cigarette Cos. Taking Suits To 5th Circ.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds over the definition of an "adversely affected" person under the Tobacco Control Act, and the justices' ruling will have important and potentially wide-ranging implications for forum shopping claims, says Trillium Chang at Zuckerman Spaeder.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • What Vinyl Acetate's Prop 65 Listing Means For Cos.

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    California's recent move to add vinyl acetate to the Proposition 65 list of carcinogens, with enforcement starting later this year, will have sweeping compliance and risk implications for businesses in the retail, food and beverage, paint, adhesive, industrial manufacturing, and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Fed. Circ. Inherency Ruling Refines Obviousness Framework

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    The Federal Circuit's December decision in Cytiva v. JSR has definitively eliminated the requirement of "reasonable expectation of success" analysis for inherent properties in obviousness determinations, while providing some key clarifications for patent practitioners, says Lawrence Kass at Steptoe.

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • High Court Could Further Limit Deference With TCPA Fax Case

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    The Supreme Court's decision to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a case involving alleged junk faxes that centers whether district courts are bound by Federal Communications Commission rules, offers the court a chance to possibly further limit the judicial deference afforded to federal agency interpretations of statutes, says Samantha Duke at Rumberger Kirk.

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