Deals & Corporate Governance
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November 13, 2025
Fenwick, WilmerHale Steer $285M Mersana Take-Private Deal
Pediatric cancer-focused biopharmaceutical company Day One Biopharmaceuticals, led by Fenwick & West LLP, announced plans Thursday to acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Mersana Therapeutics Inc., advised by WilmerHale, in a take-private deal worth up to $285 million.
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November 13, 2025
Wachtell-Led Pfizer Closes Metsera Deal Worth Up To $10B
Pfizer Inc. said Thursday that it has successfully completed its acquisition of Metsera Inc., securing the obesity drug developer after a tumultuous bidding war with Novo Nordisk and court fights that redirected the deal in Pfizer's favor.
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November 13, 2025
FTC Fails To Block Doctors' Testimony In $945M Merger Case
A D.C. federal judge refused Thursday to bar a pair of outside doctors and consultants from vouching for Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s planned JenaValve Technology Inc. acquisition, preferring to let the Federal Trade Commission contest their testimony in cross-examination and saying from the bench that he'll "make some popcorn."
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November 13, 2025
DocGo Investors Seek OK Of $12.5M Deal Over Ex-CEO Claims
Investors of mobile medical provider DocGo have asked a New York federal court to grant preliminary approval of their $12.5 million settlement of claims that the company deceived stockholders before a $432 million contract with New York City to provide emergency migrant housing came under public scrutiny.
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November 13, 2025
Virtua, Trinity Health Reach Deal Over $12M Legal Bill
Virtua Health Inc. has reached a deal to settle its claims that Trinity Health Corp. backed out of an agreement to cover $12 million in counsel fees and costs incurred in a legal fight with a rival healthcare system, according to a New Jersey federal court order dismissing the suit with prejudice.
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November 12, 2025
Sandoz Tells 3rd Circ. To Restore Full $137M Win Over UTC
Sandoz Inc. and its marketing firm RareGen LLC urged a Third Circuit panel on Wednesday to reinstate the full $137.2 million awarded in breach of contract damages against United Therapeutics Corp., claiming a lower court's decision to halve the damages provided a windfall to their adversary.
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November 10, 2025
Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attorneys From 76 Firms
The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2025 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing significant achievements in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.
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November 11, 2025
Joint Operating Deals Get Another Look in Hospital Tie-Ups
Interest in joint operating agreements — sometimes called virtual mergers — is on the rise as more hospitals try to prepare for heavier industry headwinds and the effects of the 2025 federal budget bill.
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November 10, 2025
Acadia Healthcare Inks Investor Settlement Days Before Trial
Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. and plaintiffs in a securities class action accusing the company of misleading investors about the strength of its United Kingdom operations have reached a settlement in principle, avoiding a trial that was set for later this month.
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November 10, 2025
FTC Risks Help Push Metsera Back To Pfizer
Novo Nordisk AS' aspirations to pry Metsera away from Pfizer Inc. collapsed over the weekend under the pressure of a revised Pfizer offer, twin court challenges and "a call from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission."
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November 07, 2025
Sleep Apnea Device Co. Investor Says Rollout Was Botched
Medical device company Inspire Medical Systems has been hit with a proposed investor class action alleging its shares dropped by nearly a third of their value after the public learned it concealed low demand and rollout shortcomings associated with its newest sleep apnea device.
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November 07, 2025
Spurned Pfizer Turns To Antitrust Law To Reclaim Biotech
What may be a first-of-its-kind lawsuit is playing out as Pfizer Inc. turns to antitrust law to keep Novo Nordisk from usurping its bid for Metsera.
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November 07, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cravath, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark acquires Tylenol maker Kenvue, shale producers SM Energy and Civitas Resources announce a merger, and power management company Eaton buys Boyd Corp.'s thermal business.
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November 06, 2025
Debt Collectors Sue Over Colo.'s Medical Debt Reporting Ban
A major debt collection trade group sued to block a Colorado law banning medical debt from credit reports, arguing it conflicts with a federal law that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently said doesn't let states regulate credit report content.
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November 06, 2025
Edwards Defends $945M Heart Valve Deal From FTC Challenge
Edwards Lifesciences urged a D.C. federal court to reject the Federal Trade Commission's bid to put its planned $945 million acquisition of JenaValve on hold, saying the deal will increase innovation and save the lives of thousands of people with a form of heart valve disease.
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November 05, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Rehear Biotronik Whistleblower Revival
The Ninth Circuit has rejected a petition to send its September ruling reviving a whistleblower suit against Biotronik Inc. before the full court, rejecting Biotronik's petition for a rehearing en banc.
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November 05, 2025
FTC Wants 'Tainted' Drs. Testimony Barred From Merger Case
The Federal Trade Commission wants a D.C. federal judge to bar a pair of outside doctors and consultants from vouching for Edwards Lifesciences' planned JenaValve acquisition, arguing in a filing made public Tuesday that claims of minimal communication between the physicians' counsel and the companies were "at best, misleading."
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November 05, 2025
Chancery Won't Let Pfizer Block $10B Novo Bid For Metsera
A Delaware vice chancellor Wednesday refused Pfizer Inc.'s emergency bid for a temporary restraining order to block Metsera Inc. from closing a now $10 billion competing bid by Novo Nordisk for the GLP-1 weight-loss drugmaker, saying Pfizer hasn't demonstrated Metsera's board acted in bad faith or that the company would suffer immediate irreparable harm.
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November 05, 2025
4 Firms Shape $1.8B Senior Housing Operator Merger
Sonida Senior Living Inc. is planning to buy CNL Healthcare Properties in a $1.8 billion cash-and-stock deal betting on senior housing demand as the country's over-80-years-old population is growing, with help from four law firms, the companies announced Wednesday.
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November 04, 2025
IRhythm Investors Seek Class Cert. In Heart Device Suit
Investors in digital healthcare company iRhythm Technologies are seeking certification of a class that bought shares of the company over a roughly two-year period during which it allegedly concealed issues with its Zio AT heart-event monitoring device.
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November 04, 2025
Defining The 'Superior' Bid In Pfizer-Novo Legal Battle
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk's bidding war and legal fight over obesity biotech company Metsera is raising questions around what legally constitutes a better deal when two companies are hell-bent on the same target.
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November 04, 2025
Pfizer Can't Freeze $9B Weight-Loss Drug Fight For Now
A Delaware vice chancellor on Tuesday declined for the moment Pfizer Inc.'s emergency request to put Novo Nordisk's $9 billion bid for Metsera Inc. on hold, saying the time isn't yet at hand for the court's intervention in a fight for control of the developer of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
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November 04, 2025
Blackstone Injecting $700M Into Merck Cancer Therapy
Merck & Co. said Tuesday it will receive $700 million from Blackstone Life Sciences to help fund development of sacituzumab tirumotecan, an experimental antibody-drug conjugate targeting TROP2, a protein found on many cancer cells.
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November 03, 2025
Biotech Co. Agrees To Reforms After Co-Founder's Conviction
Executives of the company formerly known as Enochian BioSciences Inc. have agreed to implement a series of corporate reforms to end shareholder derivative claims that they breached their fiduciary duty when a company co-founder it hailed as a "genius" was accused of both a murder-for-hire plot and falsifying research data.
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November 03, 2025
DOJ Taps Hall Render Atty As UnitedHealth Merger Monitor
The U.S. Department of Justice asked a Maryland federal judge Monday to appoint a Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC shareholder as compliance monitor as part of the settlement allowing UnitedHealth Group's merger with Amedisys.
Expert Analysis
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What To Expect From Calif. Bill Regulating PE In Healthcare
A California bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval, intended to increase oversight over private equity and hedge fund investments in healthcare, is emblematic of recent increased scrutiny of investments in the space, and may affect transactions and operations in California in a number of ways, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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SBA Proposal Materially Alters Contractor Recertification
The Small Business Administration's new proposed rule on recertification affects eligibility for set-aside contracts, significantly alters the landscape for mergers and acquisitions in the government contracts industry, and could have other unintended downstream consequences, says Sam Finnerty at PilieroMazza.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny
The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs
A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.
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How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare
Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.
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The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Healthcare's PE Boom
While an influx of capital may provide access to new resources and innovative technologies, the private equity model's method of funding may be fundamentally at odds with patient-first healthcare, and in recent years that inherent tension has gotten ugly, say Eva Gunasekera and Jaclyn Tayabji at Tycko & Zavareei.
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High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.
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After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.
In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.