Deals & Corporate Governance

  • May 31, 2024

    Caremark Cut Loose From CVS Price-Gouging Case

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Thursday dismissed Caremark from long-running litigation alleging CVS schemed with pharmacy benefit managers to overcharge insured health plans for generic drugs, finding Caremark's contracts with the funds have enforceable arbitration clauses.

  • May 31, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Closes $120M Loan For 8-Property Portfolio

    Diversified Healthcare Trust has finalized a deal for a 10-year, interest-only $120 million mortgage loan that's secured by eight of its properties located in seven states, the healthcare-focused real estate investment trust announced.

  • May 31, 2024

    Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Health, Spacecraft And Bombs

    The U.S. Defense Health Agency unveiled contracts worth tens of billions of dollars in May, including a scrutinized $43 billion medical staffing vehicle, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration added $6 billion to a spacecraft deal. Here, Law360 looks at some of the most noteworthy government contracts over the last month.

  • May 30, 2024

    Rite Aid Ch. 11 Timeline Extended To Allow More Plan Review

    A New Jersey judge on Thursday lengthened the timeline for Rite Aid to seek an exit from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pushing the confirmation hearing date out by seven days after insurers and others said the company's schedule would not provide enough time to review its restructuring plan.

  • May 30, 2024

    Cue Health Spiraled Into Ch. 7 After FDA Nixed COVID Tests

    Medical-test maker Cue Health's promise of "lab-quality" COVID-19 tests fell apart after federal regulators rang the alarm that its tests were less reliable than advertised, leading the company to file for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware bankruptcy court. 

  • May 30, 2024

    FTC, Novant Ask To Delay In-House Trial On Merger Challenge

    The Federal Trade Commission and Novant Health have asked to postpone an upcoming administrative hearing over the nonprofit's proposed purchase of two North Carolina hospitals, a purchase that regulators are concerned will dampen competition in the region, according to a notice filed in federal court.

  • May 29, 2024

    Fla. Medicare Companies Get Class Cert. In Suit Against USAA

    A Florida state court judge granted certification to a class of Medicare-contracted businesses suing USAA Casualty Insurance Co. over allegations the insurer withheld policy information and intentionally passed its obligation to pay automobile injury claims downstream to other companies, according to attorneys representing the group of businesses.

  • May 28, 2024

    J&J To Pay $1.25B For Global Rights To Eczema Treatment

    Johnson & Johnson has agreed to buy the rights to an experimental treatment for eczema from Baker McKenzie-advised Numab Therapeutics for approximately $1.25 billion, the companies announced on Tuesday.

  • May 28, 2024

    Medical Test Maker To Liquidate After FDA Slams COVID Kits

    Medical test maker Cue Health filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware bankruptcy court Tuesday with more than $50 million in debt, two weeks after federal regulators warned customers to throw out its COVID-19 tests due to a higher risk of false results.

  • May 28, 2024

    DC Circ. Decision May Lead To Tighter 340B Pharma Contracts

    A D.C. Circuit decision last week holding that the federal 340B drug pricing program doesn't bar drugmakers from imposing contractual conditions on contract pharmacies could embolden them to impose tougher restrictions as they try to ease the program's financial burden.

  • May 24, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Nabs $800M Despite Tenant Turbulence

    Medical Properties Trust Inc. announced Friday that the real estate investment trust has secured a £631 million ($804 million) financing from a group of investors led by real estate investment firm Song Capital, in a deal led by Goodwin Procter LLP and Slaughter and May.

  • May 22, 2024

    Doc Gets 3 Mos. For Alexion Trades Despite 'Meaningful Job'

    A doctor was sentenced to three months in prison Wednesday for insider trading on an Alexion Pharmaceuticals acquisition, with a Manhattan federal judge saying the defendant's treatment of critically ill, underserved kidney disease patients does not amount to a "get out of jail free card."

  • May 22, 2024

    Teva, Bristol-Myers Cite Bystolic Against Cancer Drug Case

    Celgene and parent Bristol-Myers Squibb pointed a New Jersey federal judge to the dismissal, recently upheld by the Second Circuit, of an antitrust suit over delayed generic competition to AbbVie's hypertension treatment Bystolic to argue the same logic applies to their bid to duck antitrust claims over cancer therapies.

  • May 22, 2024

    Covington Reps As Biogen Makes $1.8B Bet On HI-Bio

    Biogen Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase Human Immunology Biosciences, or HI-Bio, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company working on targeted therapies for severe autoimmune diseases, in a deal that could see Biogen pay up to $1.8 billion.

  • May 21, 2024

    2nd Circ. Partially Backs Win For Nurses' Union Pension Plan

    In a 90-page opinion, the Second Circuit on Tuesday mostly upheld a Manhattan federal judge's decision affirming an arbiter's award favoring a nurses' pension plan, agreeing that White Oak Global Advisors LLC must return "Day 1" fees totaling nearly $2 million and pay prejudgment interest said to top $22 million.

  • May 21, 2024

    Sens. Challenge Pharma Lobbyist Over Patent Abuse

    U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle took turns at a Tuesday hearing questioning the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbyist over whether patent abuse plays a role in maintaining the high price of prescription drugs.

  • May 21, 2024

    Wyden Expands Pharma Tax Investigation With Pfizer Inquiry

    Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Pfizer to provide details on its tax practices to explain how the drug company has consistently paid tax rates that are significantly lower than the corporate tax rate in a letter released by the committee Tuesday.

  • May 21, 2024

    SPAC Investor's Suit Changes Came Too Late, Chancery Rules

    A shareholder of a special-purpose acquisition company that merged with a now-defunct medical technology company in 2021 waited too long to amend his year-old proposed class action and must defend the case against a motion to dismiss in June, Delaware's Court of Chancery said Tuesday.

  • May 21, 2024

    Cano Judge Agrees To OK Ch. 11 Plan Disclosure Statement

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed on Tuesday to sign off on Miami-based primary healthcare group Cano Health Inc.'s Chapter 11 disclosure statement for purposes of soliciting creditor votes once the debtor files a revised proposed order that bakes in language that garnered support from unsecured creditors.

  • May 21, 2024

    CVS Health Taps American Express Atty As Governance Chief

    The former chief governance officer at American Express announced on her LinkedIn page that she has joined CVS Health as its new senior vice president, corporate secretary and chief governance officer.

  • May 21, 2024

    Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023

    The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.

  • May 21, 2024

    The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

    The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.

  • May 20, 2024

    Teladoc Faces Suit Over Mental Health Platform's Losses

    Telemedicine giant Teladoc Health Inc. and two of its executives face a proposed investor class action alleging trading prices for Teladoc shares fell after the company disclosed that its flagship mental health counseling platform saw membership and revenue declines despite increased advertising costs.

  • May 20, 2024

    Healthcare Futures Co. Sues Breakaway Ex-Members In Del.

    A company seeking to develop what it described as the first healthcare futures exchange has sued two former managers in Delaware's Court of Chancery for pilfering intellectual property and other resources and then launching a competing venture.

  • May 20, 2024

    Ga. Judge OKs $5M Atty Fees In $41M Acella Thyroid Deal

    A Georgia federal judge has signed off on a nearly $41.5 million class action settlement with Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC over faulty thyroid medication, while awarding the class attorneys another $5 million in legal fees courtesy of the pharma company.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.