Deals & Corporate Governance

  • May 02, 2024

    Skin Care Drug Co. Gets OK For Ch. 11 Wind-Down Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday said she would approve the unopposed and unanimously approved Chapter 11 wind-down plans of the company previously known as Timber Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • May 02, 2024

    Freshfields-Led Novartis Inks $1.75B Cancer Drug Co. Buyout

    Novartis AG said Thursday it has agreed to buy U.S. radiopharmaceutical company Mariana Oncology in a transaction worth up to $1.75 billion, as the Swiss pharmaceutical giant moves to bolster its precision nuclear medicine portfolio.

  • May 01, 2024

    Future Is 'Bleak' If Judge Rejects Novant Merger, Court Hears

    Novant Health on Wednesday sought to portray itself as the "last best hope" to save two struggling hospitals in North Carolina at the start of a multiday hearing in which the Federal Trade Commission is asking the court to squelch Novant's proposed $320 million merger.

  • May 01, 2024

    'Foul' BioVentrix Cash-Out Gets Extra Scrutiny, Chancery Says

    A medical device company's decision to suddenly and without explanation cash out its common stockholders for less than a penny just two months before the company raised $48.5 million in new capital creates such a "foul flavor" that it deserves extra scrutiny, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    Attys Say $5M Fee In Acella Settlement A Modest Proposal

    Plaintiffs' attorneys who recently reached a $46.5 million class action settlement with Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC over faulty thyroid medication asked a Georgia federal judge Tuesday to sign off on their $5 million cut of the deal as a "presumptively reasonable" proposal.

  • April 30, 2024

    Chase Can't Escape Medical Services Co.'s Defamation Suit

    A Florida federal judge refused Monday to toss a suit by a medical services company accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank NA of destroying its business by adding it to a "blacklist," canceling its transactions and falsely telling its business partners that sanctions typically applied to violators of international laws or human rights statutes caused the cancellations.

  • April 30, 2024

    What's Behind the Q1 Digital Health Funding Rebound

    The digital health industry saw a resurgence in funding at the start of 2024, driven by a handful of mega-rounds and growing deal sizes across the board, but it also faced record-low deal counts as investors signaled pickier attitudes over which ventures they're choosing to fund.

  • April 30, 2024

    Health Attys Facing Noncompete Ban Keep Calm, Carry On

    In the wake of a momentous federal ban on virtually all noncompete restrictions, healthcare businesses and their lawyers are poring over employment contracts and fretting about the implications for an industry heavily reliant on noncompetes for doctors and many others.

  • April 30, 2024

    $626M Fee Award In BCBS Deal Is Unjust, High Court Told

    A member of the class that settled multidistrict litigation with Blue Cross Blue Shield for $2.67 billion over anti-competitive practices has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to the $626 million attorney fees award in the settlement, arguing the Eleventh Circuit's approval of the award runs counter to high court precedent.

  • April 30, 2024

    Vaxart Investors Want Sanctions Over Deleted Texts

    A group of Vaxart investors asked a California federal judge to issue sanctions against Armistice Capital LLC, which previously controlled Vaxart and allegedly sold $267 million worth of its Vaxart shares at inflated prices, saying the hedge fund and its executives purposely deleted text messages integral to the investors' claims.

  • April 30, 2024

    FTC Says Novant Wants Court To Ignore Local Competition

    Novant Health can't ask a federal judge to ignore evidence that buying two North Carolina hospitals will stymie competition in the region just because those facilities are supposedly struggling and the proposed deal might shore up resources, the Federal Trade Commission said in a brief doubling down on its bid to block the $320 million buyout.

  • April 30, 2024

    PE-Backed Medline Buying Ecolab's Surgical Unit For $950M

    Private equity-backed medical supply company Medline said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire the global surgical solutions business of Ecolab Inc. for $950 million in cash.

  • April 29, 2024

    Boehringer Accused Of Monopolizing Inhaler Product Market

    Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has manipulated the U.S. patent and drug approval system to unlawfully block makers of generic inhaler medications, health and welfare funds claimed in a lawsuit filed Monday in Connecticut federal court, arguing that the "availability of generics has tangible cost and life-saving effects."

  • April 29, 2024

    Deciphera Stock Soars On $2.4B Deal With Japan's Ono

    Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it has agreed to be purchased by Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $2.4 billion, which sent the Waltham, Massachusetts-based cancer drugmaker's stock soaring more than 72%.

  • April 26, 2024

    Therapy Co. SPAC Investors To Settle Del., Ill. Merger Suits

    An attorney for a blank-check company that took ATI Physical Therapy Inc. public told Delaware's Court of Chancery it has agreed to settle two proposed stockholder class actions in conjunction with pending federal class and derivative suits in the Northern District of Illinois.

  • April 25, 2024

    NC Hospital Leader Condemns FTC's Merger Block Bid

    The chief of staff for a North Carolina hospital in the midst of a merger battle ripped the care facility's current owners Thursday in a show of support for new ownership, pleading for federal antitrust regulators to get out of the way lest they usher in "a year long death marked by suffering" for the hospital.

  • April 25, 2024

    Nursing Agency Urges 4th Circ. To Overturn $9M Wage Ruling

    A nurse staffing agency pressed the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower court's decision ordering the agency to pay workers $9 million in a misclassification suit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor, saying the lower court should have made the government prove the nurses were employees.

  • April 25, 2024

    Wachtell Steers Perrigo In €275M Unit Sale To Pharma Biz

    Healthcare company Perrigo said Thursday that it has agreed to sell its pharmaceutical division for rare diseases to pharmaceutical company Esteve Healthcare SL for €275 million ($295 million) in a deal guided by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Clifford Chance LLP.

  • April 24, 2024

    Bid To Sanction DOJ Denied In Novel Insider Trading Case

    A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant an indicted former healthcare CEO's bid to sanction the government in a case accusing him of a novel form of insider trading, saying the CEO failed to show that he was prejudiced by the government interviewing a potential witness without counsel present. 

  • April 24, 2024

    Sheppard Mullin Healthcare Team Adds Crowell & Moring Atty

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP announced the fifth addition to its healthcare industry team this year on Wednesday, welcoming a former Crowell & Moring LLP partner with broad corporate transactional and governance expertise.

  • April 24, 2024

    Private Equity Lag Continues To Stunt M&A Growth

    Large leveraged buyout activity remained muted in the first quarter as the refinancing of old private equity loans took precedence over new loans, contributing to a slower-than-anticipated rebound in overall mergers and acquisitions, according to a new report from data provider PitchBook.

  • April 23, 2024

    Failure Of Eli Lilly Insulin Deal Won't End Patients' Litigation

    The collapse of a massive deal to settle claims Eli Lilly illegally inflated insulin prices may not alter the trajectory of the underlying litigation, as patients are already pressing ahead with a new version of their proposed class action.

  • April 23, 2024

    GoodRx Hid Revenue Reliance On Kroger, Suit Claims

    GoodRx Holdings Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed from investors the indispensability of its relationship with Kroger, leading to share declines when GoodRx announced revenue would be severely impacted because the grocery chain would no longer be accepting its discount codes.

  • April 23, 2024

    Virtua Says Trinity Health Won't Pay $12M ER Fight Legal Bill

    Virtua claimed Monday in New Jersey federal court that Trinity Health has backed out of an agreement to cover $12 million in counsel fees and costs incurred in a legal fight with a rival healthcare system over Virtua's acquisition of Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services from Trinity.

  • April 23, 2024

    Healthcare Deals This Week: 23andMe, Incyte And More

    From a billion-dollar collaboration to a potential go-private proposal, the past week has seen a spur of deal activity in the healthcare industry.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • 5 Trends To Watch As Value-Based Healthcare Gains Steam

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    Value-based care has grown and evolved as healthcare providers, payors and policymakers seek to improve patient results while containing costs, and this shift in the industry is expected to accelerate in the near future, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC

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    Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.

  • What Workplace Violence Law Means For Texas Healthcare

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    While no federal laws address violence against healthcare workers, Texas has recently enacted statutory protections that take effect later this year — so facilities in the state should understand their new obligations under the law, and employers in other states would be wise to take notice as well, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • 5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships

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    With recent data showing that the U.S. continues to spend more and get less for healthcare services compared to other industrialized nations, providers and payors should consider a variety of partnership structures that can help achieve the so-called triple aim of improving the health of individuals and populations while reducing per capita costs, says John Howard at Thompson Coburn.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling

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    A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.