Deals & Corporate Governance

  • August 13, 2024

    Pioneer Health Ch. 11 Plan With Future Sale Gets OK

    Bankrupt clinic operator Pioneer Health Inc. received approval Tuesday from a Delaware court of its Chapter 11 plan with a post-confirmation sale set to be completed before the plan's effective date.

  • August 13, 2024

    FTC Makes 2nd Request In Review Of Medical Device Co. Deal

    Medical device company Surmodics Inc. disclosed Monday that federal regulators are taking a closer look at its agreement to be acquired by private equity giant GTCR in a $627 million deal.

  • August 13, 2024

    Are 'Public Advantage' Laws Driving Up Healthcare Costs?

    As U.S. healthcare costs continue to rise, so do concerns about laws in over a dozen states that allow monopolistic hospital consolidations to obtain antitrust immunity despite warnings from federal officials that these so-called public advantage laws actually hurt patients' pocketbooks.

  • August 13, 2024

    3 Firms Drive $3.8B Carlyle-Baxter Kidney Care Deal

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led private equity firm Carlyle on Tuesday agreed to acquire the kidney care unit of Baxter International Inc., represented by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Baker McKenzie, for $3.8 billion, Baxter said in a statement Tuesday.

  • August 12, 2024

    States Want Teva Generic Price Fixing Case Tried 1st

    A coalition of state attorneys general suing a slew of generic drugmakers are asking for a Connecticut federal court to proceed with one of the two cases before the other, saying the outcome in that case will have a "significant impact" on settlement talks with other pharmaceutical company plaintiffs.

  • August 12, 2024

    States Oppose Shkreli High Court Bid For $64M Disgorgement

    State enforcers are opposing a petition from ex-pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a disgorgement order requiring him to pay up to $64 million for an alleged scheme to increase the price of a life-saving drug by 4,000%

  • August 12, 2024

    NJ Health System Wants Proskauer DQ'd From Antitrust Case

    Proskauer Rose LLP is facing accusations that it should be disqualified from representing one of New Jersey's largest healthcare systems in an antitrust lawsuit brought by a competitor that was once a client of the firm.

  • August 09, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Mining Cos. Can't Appeal Retiree Health Win

    Four former subsidiaries of the now-defunct coal company Consol Energy Inc. can't challenge an arbitration award that banned unilateral changes to union-represented retirees' health benefits plan, the D.C. Circuit held Friday, saying the ex-subsidiaries weren't parties to the award and aren't injured by it.

  • August 09, 2024

    Healthcare-Focused SPAC Voyager Nets $220M IPO

    Shares of healthcare-focused Voyager Acquisition Corp. began trading publicly on Friday after the company priced its $220 million initial public offering.

  • August 09, 2024

    Fannie Mae Seeks Memory Care Receiver After $28.3M Default

    Fannie Mae asked a federal judge to appoint a receiver for three North Carolina senior living facilities after arguing that borrower Affinity Living Communities defaulted on $28.3 million worth of loans from the government-backed lender by missing three months of payments.

  • August 08, 2024

    In Reddit Hot Seat, Chopra Touts CFPB Medical Debt Proposal

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra took to social media on Thursday to pitch the agency's proposed ban on medical debt reporting, defending it against concerns that the plan could interfere with credit scores and encourage people to skip out on medical bills.

  • August 08, 2024

    Newmark Secures $300M For Healthcare Real Estate JV

    Newmark Group Inc. has put together a joint venture between two companies and has also obtained $300 million in financing for the venture so that it can develop "purpose-built healthcare properties," the commercial real estate advisory firm announced Aug. 8.

  • August 07, 2024

    Amgen Waged Lawfare To Overcharge For Drug, Suit Claims

    Maryland-based independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association claim pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries have engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices that have inflated the cost of the blockbuster drug Enbrel.

  • August 07, 2024

    Delta Dental Can't Get Antitrust Standard Decided Early

    An Illinois federal judge denied a bid from Delta Dental to have the court decide what legal standard should apply to claims that it violated antitrust law through a $13 billion scheme to restrict competition before ruling on a class certification motion.

  • August 06, 2024

    Henrietta Lacks' Family Sues Novartis, Viatris Over HeLa Cells

    The family of the late Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were harvested without her knowledge to create the first immortalized human cell line, sued Novartis and Viatris in Maryland federal court Monday, alleging the pharmaceutical giants have "reaped massive profits" using Lacks' stolen cells to create new drugs.

  • August 06, 2024

    Life Sciences Credit Firm Symbiotic Launches With $600M

    A new credit firm led by veterans in the healthcare industry announced its launch Tuesday, with more than $600 million in capital earmarked for loans to life sciences companies.

  • August 06, 2024

    Takeaways From This Week's Healthcare Earnings Calls

    The third main week of earnings calls for healthcare companies this quarter saw names like GSK, Humana and Teladoc post their financial results.

  • August 06, 2024

    Pharma Co. Founder Beats Suit Over Short-Swing Trading

    The founder of Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc. beat back a suit alleging he realized more than $2.5 million in so-called short-swing profits after he exchanged his Y-mAbs stock for those of another company, with a New York federal judge saying in a ruling of first impression that the founder does not need to return the gains he received.

  • August 05, 2024

    Indivior Accused Of Overstating Prospects Of 3 Opioid Drugs

    Drugmaker Indivior PLC has been hit with a proposed investor class action in Virginia federal court over claims it overstated the financial prospects of its drugs used to treat opioid use disorders and the company's ability to forecast such financial projections.

  • August 05, 2024

    Centessa Beats Shareholder Suit Over Kidney Drug

    A New York federal judge has tossed a shareholder lawsuit alleging that Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC overstated the prospects of its kidney disease treatment ahead of the drugmaker's initial public offering, saying the plaintiffs have failed to allege any actionable misleading statements or omissions.

  • August 05, 2024

    Avidity Hires Seasoned Life Sciences Attorney As CLO

    Avidity Biosciences Inc., a maker of therapies for muscle diseases, has found its new legal leader in an experienced life sciences in-house attorney from Mirati Therapeutics.

  • August 05, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Provides $303M For Nursing Properties Buy

    CareTrust REIT Inc. extended a $260 million senior mortgage loan and $43 million preferred equity investment for the acquisition of a portfolio of skilled-nursing and senior housing properties, the healthcare real estate investment trust has announced.

  • August 02, 2024

    Monitor Says HCA Possibly Flouted Promises In Hospital Deal

    The independent monitor tasked with ensuring HCA Healthcare has complied with an agreement that cemented its $1.5 billion acquisition of a North Carolina health system has said the for-profit network may have deviated from those promises, according to a new report.

  • August 01, 2024

    MultiPlan, Insurance Cos. Must Face Collusion MDL In Illinois

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday centralized in Chicago six class actions challenging the MultiPlan pricing tools that healthcare providers allege are used by UnitedHealth, Aetna, Cigna and other major insurers to systematically underpay out-of-network providers, with more than a dozen similar lawsuits potentially tagging along.

  • August 01, 2024

    Pioneer Health Approved For $450K To Fund Ch. 11 Sale Plan

    Bankrupt clinic operator Pioneer Health Inc. received approval from a Delaware court to borrow $450,000 as it pursues a sale of its assets, but agreed to delay a hearing on a proposed Chapter 11 plan to give the company time to update the filings to reflect its new track.

Expert Analysis

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

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    Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Conn. Certificate-Of-Need Law Will Bring Greater Efficiency

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    A new Connecticut law benefits health care organizations by establishing more concrete deadlines and requirements for the state's certificate-of-need law enforcer, and allows the enforcement agency to carry out its duties more efficiently, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

  • Scope Of FTC's Health Info Enforcement May Expand

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed amendments to the Health Breach Notification Rule signal the agency's mounting efforts to regulate consumer health information beyond the reaches of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, which does not cover many recent health apps and technologies, say Jodi Daniel and Brandon Ge at Crowell & Moring.

  • Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

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    The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • How NY Law Affects Scrutiny Of Health Care PE Transactions

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    A recently passed New York law will strengthen pretransanction notification requirements for health care entities — particularly those backed by private equity — but contains several ambiguities that will hopefully be clarified before the law takes effect in August, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

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    Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

  • Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

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    After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • A Look At 2023's Major NLRB Developments Thus Far

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    Over the last six months, the National Labor Relations Board has broadened its interpretation and enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act, including increasing penalties and efforts to prohibit restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements, say Eve Klein and Elizabeth Mincer at Duane Morris.

  • Preparing For Md. Adult-Use Cannabis: Licensing Provisions

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    As the launch of Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market quickly approaches, current and prospective businesses will need to understand key provisions and limitations related to license conversion, qualifying partnerships, social equity applications and microlicenses, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.

  • FTC's Amgen-Horizon Protest Raises Conglomerate Concerns

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    The Federal Trade Commission's challenge to Amgen Inc.'s proposed $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics is the agency's first move in four decades based on a conglomerate theory of competitive harm, and might pose new antitrust risks for transactions beyond the pharmaceutical sector, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

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    Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.