Deals & Corporate Governance

  • September 06, 2024

    Actelion Must Face Tracleer Antitrust Suit With Class Certified

    A Maryland federal judge refused Friday to toss an antitrust suit accusing Actelion Pharmaceuticals of illegally denying generics companies the samples they needed to produce generic versions of its hypertension drug Tracleer, while separately certifying a class composed of "hundreds" of insurers and self-funded employers.

  • September 06, 2024

    Biopharm Co., Directors Sued In Del. Over 'Extreme' Scheme

    A five-year run of "extreme and unconscionable self-dealing" has left 62% of Navidea BioPharmaceuticals Inc. equity in the hands of a single stockholder-director, a Delaware Court of Chancery suit has alleged, with the company now deregistered and currently without a viable product.

  • September 06, 2024

    Glioblastoma Org. Wants End To Rival's Use Of 'GBM'

    The Glioblastoma Foundation has hit a competing nonprofit with a suit alleging that the group's use of the initials "GBM" in its name has ripped off its trademark and sown confusion among donors who can't tell the two organizations apart.

  • September 05, 2024

    NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing

    A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.

  • September 05, 2024

    FTC Staff Opposes Indiana Hospital Merger

    Federal Trade Commission staff on Thursday urged Indiana's health department to reject Union Health's planned purchase of Terre Haute Regional Hospital LP from HCA Healthcare Inc.

  • September 05, 2024

    Purdue Gets Mediation, Injunction Extension In Ch. 11

    OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP received bankruptcy court approval on Thursday to extend its ongoing mediation for another 18 days and to continue the litigation shield protecting the Sackler family members who own the company, as parties seek consensus on a new Chapter 11 plan structure.

  • September 04, 2024

    Leech Tishman Combines With Calif. Firm Nelson Hardiman

    Leech Tishman is set to add California-based healthcare and life science law firm Nelson Hardiman's 17 attorneys to its Los Angeles office this fall and will do business in the Golden State under the combined name Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • September 04, 2024

    NJ Health System Wins Access To Fraud File In Antitrust Fight

    A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday allowed health system RWJBarnabas Health Inc. to move ahead with a subpoena on the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation in a case in which RWJBarnabas is accused of antitrust violations by rival health system CarePoint Health Management Associates LLC.

  • September 04, 2024

    J&J Hit With $1B Damages In Del. Merger Milestone Fight

    Johnson & Johnson owes more than $1 billion to a medical robotics developer and entrepreneur caught up in a multibillion-dollar post-acquisition dispute, a Delaware vice chancellor ruled Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2024

    Teva Investors Get Go-Ahead To Resume Kickbacks Class Suit

    A shareholder's certified class action against pharmaceutical company Teva can resume after being paused for two years, as the company says it is working towards a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over related claims it used kickbacks to raise the price of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, a Philadelphia federal judge has decided.

  • September 03, 2024

    3rd Circ.: Biotech Must Pay Royalties Despite Expired Patents

    A cancer drug biotechnology company must pay royalties to a research firm despite the expiration of the applicable patents, a Third Circuit panel ruled in a precedential decision Tuesday, concluding that the biotech's royalty obligation is calculated differently than the one in a U.S. Supreme Court case it cited.

  • September 03, 2024

    Healthcare Deals This Week: Bayer, Novartis, Circle Pharma

    The precision oncology industry saw an increase in investment this past week as Noetik secured $40 million in financing for AI-driven cancer therapeutics development. Law360 breaks down this and other deals from the past week.

  • September 03, 2024

    Gov't Backs 9th Circ. Bid To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court applied the wrong standard when tossing a pair of class actions accusing the maker of Invisalign of monopolizing markets for clear dental aligners and teeth scanners.

  • September 03, 2024

    Aspire Biopharma Inks SPAC Deal At $316M Valuation

    Aspire Biopharma Inc., advised by Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP, on Tuesday announced that it will go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company PowerUp Acquisition Corp., led by Dykema Gossett PLLC, in a transaction that values the business at a pre-money equity value of roughly $316 million.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ex-Tesla Atty Joins Cell Therapy Business As General Counsel

    Cell therapy manufacturer Cellares has hired as its general counsel and corporate secretary an experienced in-house attorney who formerly worked for Lucid Motors and Tesla.

  • September 03, 2024

    Semnur Pharmaceuticals To Go Public Via $2.5B SPAC Merger

    Paul Hastings LLP-advised Semnur Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Tuesday unveiled plans to go public via a merger with Winston & Strawn LLP-led blank check company Denali Capital Acquisition Corp. in a deal that gives the pharmaceutical company a pre-transaction equity value of $2.5 billion.

  • August 30, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Pays $62M For Two Skilled Nursing Facilities

    CareTrust REIT Inc. bought two skilled nursing facilities in two separate deals that cost $62.1 million in total in a "cash on hand" deal, the healthcare-focused real estate investment trust announced.

  • August 30, 2024

    Cancer Detection Co. Valued At $375M In SPAC Merger

    Blank check company Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. V, advised by Loeb & Loeb LLP, announced that it has agreed to merge with and take public Korean cancer diagnosis technology company CubeBio Co. Ltd., led by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, in a deal valued at $375 million.

  • August 29, 2024

    Jazz Hits Teva With Patent Suit Over Narcolepsy Drug

    Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. is infringing a patent for the narcolepsy drug Xywav, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. said in a complaint filed in New Jersey federal court.

  • August 28, 2024

    Merck Must Face Class Claims In Vaccine Antitrust Suit

    Merck cannot strike class claims in antitrust litigation over its rotavirus vaccine, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Wednesday, while also allowing the city of Baltimore to eliminate redundancies in its complaint.

  • August 28, 2024

    NJ Health System Repeats Call For Proskauer DQ

    New Jersey health network CarePoint Health Management Associates LLC has redoubled its call for a New Jersey federal judge to disqualify Proskauer Rose LLP from representing competitor RWJBarnabas Health Inc. amid antitrust claims brought by CarePoint, arguing CarePoint's prior representation by Proskauer is substantially related to the case.

  • August 28, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Adds $118M Of Properties To KKR Venture

    Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. provided $118 million in properties to its joint venture with KKR & Co. Inc., netting the real estate investment trust about $94 million of proceeds and increasing the value of the partnership to nearly $500 million.

  • August 27, 2024

    Healthcare Deals This Week: UCB, AstraZeneca, McKesson

    The healthcare industry saw a handful of notable deals this past week, capping off a busy summer season.

  • August 27, 2024

    New Cigna CLO Vows To Help Co. Navigate 'Dynamic' Industry

    Cigna has promoted one of its in-house lawyers, who has spent her in-house and private practice career in the healthcare space, to chief legal officer, according to a LinkedIn post.

  • August 27, 2024

    The Firms Behind Deals Shaping The Future Of Cancer Drugs

    Big Pharma has poured billions of dollars into acquiring and developing the next generation of cancer drugs. Major law firms like Cooley, Freshfields and Skadden are working to put together blockbuster deals expected to shape the future of oncology treatments.

Expert Analysis

  • The Current State Of Healthcare Transaction Reviews In Calif.

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    As of April, certain healthcare transactions in California have been subject to additional notification compliance requirements, and complying with these new rules could significantly delay and discourage some deals, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Careful Data Governance Is A Must Amid Enforcement Focus

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    Federal and state regulators' heightened focus on privacy enforcement, including the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on consumer protection in the car industry, highlight the importance of proactive risk management, compliance and data governance, say Jason Priebe and Danny Riley at Seyfarth.

  • 5 Steps To Navigating State Laws On Healthcare Transactions

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    As more states pass legislation requiring healthcare-transaction notice, private equity investors and other deal parties should evaluate the new laws and consider ways to mitigate their effects, say Carol Loepere and Nicole Aiken-Shaban at Reed Smith.

  • Feds' Biotech Enforcement Efforts Are Too Heavy-Handed

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions against biotech companies untether the Anti-Kickback Statute from its original legislative purpose, and threaten to stifle innovation and undermine patient quality of care, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures

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    The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • A Recipe For Growth Equity Investing In A Slow M&A Market

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    Carl Marcellino at Ropes & Gray discusses the factors bolstering appetite for growth equity fundraising in a depressed M&A market, and walks through the deal terms and other ingredients that set growth equity transactions apart from bread-and-butter venture capital investing.

  • PE-Healthcare Mergers Should Prepare For Challenges

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    State and federal regulators are increasingly imposing new requirements on healthcare transactions involving private equity partners, with mergers that would have drawn little scrutiny a few years ago now requiring a multijurisdictional risk analysis during the deal formation process, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Behind Indiana's Broad New Healthcare Transactions Law

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    The high materiality threshold in Indiana's recently passed healthcare transaction law, coupled with the inclusion of private equity in its definition of healthcare entities, makes it one of the broadest state review regulations to date, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Highlights From The 2024 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    U.S. merger enforcement and cartels figured heavily in this year's American Bar Association spring antitrust meeting, where one key takeaway included news that the Federal Trade Commission's anticipated changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino form may be less dramatic than many originally feared, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting

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    While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Planning For Healthcare-Private Equity Antitrust Enforcement

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    U.S. antitrust agency developments could mean potential enforcement actions on healthcare-related acquisitions by private equity funds are on the way, and entities operating in this space should follow a series of practice tips, including early assessment of antitrust risks on both the state and federal level, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.

  • Why Oncology Deal Making Continues To Fuel Biotech M&A

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    The biotech sector's potential for advancements in cancer care continues to attract deal-maker interest, and the keys to successful mergers and acquisitions include the ability to integrate innovative therapies, leverage technological advancements and respond to the dynamic needs of patients, say Bryan Luchs and Mike Weir at White & Case.

  • Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny

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    As the Biden administration maintains its aggressive approach to antitrust merger enforcement, prudent healthcare M&A counsel will consider practical advice when contemplating their next transaction, including carefully selecting a merger partner and preparing for a potentially long waiting period prior to closing, say attorneys at Davis Wright.