Deals & Corporate Governance
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April 29, 2025
Welltower Reports $6.2B In Q1 Deals, Surpassing 2024 Results
Executives of healthcare real estate investment trust Welltower on Tuesday touted the company's work closing more acquisitions during this year's first quarter than it did in all of 2024, ahead of expected economic uncertainty in the year ahead.
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April 29, 2025
Cooley Life Sciences Ace Rejoins Latham In Bay Area
Latham & Watkins LLP has welcomed back an intellectual property attorney who spent the past nine years at Cooley LLP to bolster its healthcare and life sciences practice, including advising clients about licensing and transactional matters.
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April 28, 2025
Baker Donelson Picks Up Longtime HHS OIG Atty In Maryland
Amanda Copsey, a longtime U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General attorney, has joined Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC as a shareholder in its Baltimore office, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare laws and regulations.
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April 28, 2025
Sanofi Challenges Jurisdiction In Conn. Zantac Lawsuits
Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC on Monday sought to exit nine combined Connecticut lawsuits claiming the heartburn drug ranitidine degraded into a compound that causes cancer, saying it is beyond the state's long-arm statute and that due process guarantees prevent it from being sued in Connecticut.
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April 28, 2025
Sullivan & Cromwell-Led Merck To Buy SpringWorks For $3.9B
Merck KGaA said Monday it has agreed to acquire U.S. biotech company SpringWorks Therapeutics for $3.9 billion, as the German science and technology group aims to grow its cancer drug business and its global presence.
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April 25, 2025
Judge Says FDA Can Take Ozempic Off Shortage List
A Texas federal judge has sided with arguments from Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk A/S not to block the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from moving forward with an administrative decision stopping "unsafe, knockoff versions" of the blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drug from flooding the market.
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April 25, 2025
Insulet's $452M Trade Secrets Award Reduced To $59.4M
A $452 million trade secrets jury award for Insulet Corp. has been cut to $59.4 million by a Massachusetts federal judge who said the reduction is necessary to avoid double recovery and to comply with the law, following a trend where courts have reduced large jury awards in trade secret cases.
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April 24, 2025
Latham-Led LLR Clinches 7th Fund With $2.45B Committed
Latham & Watkins LLP-advised LLR Partners on Thursday announced that it wrapped its seventh private equity fund with $2.45 billion in tow.
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April 23, 2025
GoodRx Beats Investor Suit Over Kroger-Linked Biz
GoodRx Holdings Inc. has escaped a proposed shareholder class action alleging it concealed from investors the indispensability of its relationship with Kroger, according to an order signed by a California federal judge who said the suit does not show GoodRx knew Kroger had plans to renegotiate its contracts.
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April 22, 2025
This Week's Payor Earnings: UnitedHealthcare, Elevance
Healthcare payors posted mixed earnings this past week, with UnitedHealthcare signaling a tough quarter full of headwinds, while Elevance fared better despite similar challenges.
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April 22, 2025
Judge Approves Prospect Medical's Pa. Hospitals' Closure
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Prospect Medical Holdings' request to close two Pennsylvania hospitals after the bankrupt operator was unable to secure another entity to run the hospitals despite support from government and community organizations to keep them open.
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April 22, 2025
Tivity Health Denied Win In Suit Over Nutrisystem Buy
Health program company Tivity Health was largely denied a summary judgment win over investors who sued the company over its troubled $1.3 billion purchase of Nutrisystem, according to an order from a Tennessee federal judge who ruled Tivity's duty to disclose certain information is still debatable.
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April 22, 2025
J&J Ends Trade Secrets Suit Against Now Deceased Ex-Exec
Johnson & Johnson has reached a settlement with the estate of a former executive that it accused of stealing confidential files when he left the company to work for Pfizer, but who died in the middle of the litigation, the parties told a New Jersey federal court.
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April 22, 2025
Trump's Healthcare Order A Mixed Bag For Big Pharma
While Trump's executive order last week is more of a general road map than a clear plan for cutting prices, experts say it signals key policy priorities for the administration — including on a point of serious contention between drug companies and federal regulators.
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April 21, 2025
Sun Pharma Accuses Drugstores Of $10M Refund Scheme
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. told a New Jersey federal court that a group of pharmacies and their operators engaged in a criminal, years-long racketeering scheme that resulted in it paying more than $10 million in refunds for short-dated pharmaceutical products.
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April 18, 2025
PBMs Press 8th Circ. Bid To Pause FTC Case
The nation's "Big Three" pharmacy benefit managers are asking the Eighth Circuit to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house insulin price-fixing case against them, saying that their constitutional challenge to the commission's administrative proceeding process should be fully heard before the in-house case moves forward.
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April 17, 2025
Incyte Can Get Novartis' Privileged Info On Drug Royalty Deal
Novartis must produce certain privileged documents to Incyte concerning its understanding of their contract for royalty payments from sales of Incyte's blood cancer drug, unless Novartis agrees its former outside counsel, who negotiated the terms, won't testify about that topic at the upcoming contract breach trial, a New York federal judge said Thursday.
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April 17, 2025
NC Hospital Operator Can't Escape AG's Merger Suit Yet
A North Carolina Business Court judge rejected HCA Healthcare's bid for a partial win in state Attorney General Jeff Jackson's compliance suit reviewing the company's 2019 purchase of another hospital system, ruling that the purchase agreement's language is too ambiguous to decide the matter without further discovery.
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April 17, 2025
Zenas BioPharma Faces Investor Suit Over Post-IPO Plunge
Autoimmune disease therapeutics company Zenas BioPharma Inc. was hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that its registration statement for its September 2024 initial public offering overstated the amount of time that the company could fund its operations using existing cash and expected net proceeds from the offering.
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April 16, 2025
DexCom Execs Sued For Allegedly Misleading Growth Claims
Executives and directors of glucose monitor manufacturer DexCom Inc. have been hit with a derivative suit alleging that they concealed from investors that DexCom struggled to maintain a sales force that could keep up with growing demand following a Medicare policy expansion.
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April 15, 2025
9th Circ. Told Oregon Hospital Merger Law Flouts Due Process
A hospital trade group urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to block an Oregon law allowing the Oregon Health Authority to review proposed healthcare business consolidations, arguing the law is "unconstitutionally vague" and bestows unlimited power on the agency to block healthcare transactions in the state.
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April 15, 2025
Big Pharma Touts US Investments Amid Tariff Threat
As tariffs loom on the horizon, Big Pharma companies laud their plans to ramp up U.S. manufacturing — even as they're set to eat costs for the foreseeable future.
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April 15, 2025
McGuireWoods Immune From Defamation Case, NC Panel Told
McGuireWoods LLP and a former partner have told a North Carolina state appeals court that they have absolute privilege over allegedly defamatory statements made in connection with an investigation into the former CEO of a managed care organization, arguing that the trial court should have granted them a pretrial win.
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April 15, 2025
Kirkland-Led Linden Wraps $5.4B Healthcare-Focused Fund
Healthcare-focused private equity shop Linden Capital Partners, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Tuesday announced that it clinched its sixth fund with $5.4 billion of capital commitments.
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April 11, 2025
CFPB To Pull Medical Debt Opinion, May Ax Nonbank Registry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that it will scrap recent guidance aimed at reining in medical debt collectors and may close out its new national nonbank enforcement registry, extending the agency's pullback from its Biden-era policies.
Expert Analysis
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The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting
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.
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Planning For Healthcare-Private Equity Antitrust Enforcement
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.
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Why Oncology Deal Making Continues To Fuel Biotech M&A
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.
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Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny
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.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
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.
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5 Trends To Watch As Value-Based Healthcare Gains Steam
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.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
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.
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What Workplace Violence Law Means For Texas Healthcare
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.
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5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships
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.
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What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.
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.
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Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling
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.
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ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council
The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Oregon Law Would Compromise Management Service Orgs
If passed, a proposed Oregon law would materially limit physician corporate practice of medicine structures, causing significant disruption to the provision of medicine and hindering professional corporations' ability to focus on the clinical components of their practice, say Christina Bergeron and William Shefelman at Ropes & Gray.