Deals & Corporate Governance
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October 21, 2025
Novartis Says Alexion's 'Block The Cause' Ads Are False
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. is suing rival Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Delaware federal court, alleging that Alexion's "Block the Cause" ad campaign for its Ultomiris product falsely implies that Novartis' own treatment is less effective or even dangerous.
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October 20, 2025
Sterigenics Nears Win In Georgia Ethylene Oxide Litigation
Sterigenics Inc. notched two significant wins in sprawling litigation over its alleged emissions of carcinogenic ethylene oxide at an Atlanta-area plant, as a Georgia state court judge tossed residents' specific causation claims and allegations that the plant's activities constituted a private nuisance.
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October 17, 2025
Acadia Investors Score Partial Win In Fraud Class Action
A Tennessee federal judge has granted a proposed class of Acadia Healthcare Co. investors a partial early win in their suit claiming the company misled them about the strength of its United Kingdom operations, finding that the investors have presented genuine issues of material fact and that Acadia failed to properly rebut their claims.
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October 15, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Pushes Cigna On Payments To Hospitals
A Texas appeals court seemed skeptical of Cigna Healthcare of Texas Inc.'s claim that once a patient gets hospitalized, any subsequent treatment should be classified as emergency care, asking Wednesday why Cigna should get to escape a lawsuit claiming it underpaid multiple hospitals.
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October 14, 2025
Full 3rd Circ. Won't Rethink $45M CareDx False Ad Case
The Third Circuit on Tuesday turned down medical testing company CareDx's request to have a full panel mull whether to reinstate a $45 million jury award in a false advertisement case over genetic testing technology against rival Natera.
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October 14, 2025
Healthcare Deals This Week: Oura, AstraZeneca, BMS
It was a week of major deals in the healthcare sector space, with startups like Oura and Kardigan securing significant funding, Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk announcing billion-dollar acquisitions and AstraZeneca striking a deal with the Trump administration.
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October 14, 2025
Colo. Biz Accuses VA Of Ignoring Veteran-Owned Suppliers
A Colorado company accused the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of improperly greenlighting purchases of electrocardiogram leads from a large overseas business when American-made items are available from it and other veteran-owned small businesses.
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October 14, 2025
Judges Back Ga. County's Use Of Outside Attys In Opioid Suit
The Georgia Court of Appeals has backed the dismissal of a lawsuit by Publix Supermarkets claiming a metro Atlanta county unconstitutionally hired outside counsel to pursue opioid litigation against the grocery chain, ruling Publix had "done nothing to assuage" the court's reasons for throwing out an almost identical suit earlier this year.
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October 14, 2025
Covington, Sidley Guide $700M BioCryst Allergic Disease Deal
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. will purchase Astria Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for allergic and immunologic diseases, in a cash and stock deal worth about $700 million, the companies announced Tuesday.
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October 10, 2025
DOJ Can't Pause Review Of UnitedHealth Deal Amid Shutdown
A Maryland federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to stay its recently settled case with UnitedHealth over the company's merger with Amedisys because of the government shutdown and lapse in appropriations, ruling that a stay would impede the DOJ's ability to evaluate the public interest in the settlement.
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October 10, 2025
ATyr Pharma Faces Investor Suit Over Failed Drug Trial
Rare disease biotech aTyr Pharma Inc. and its CEO have been hit with a proposed shareholder class action accusing them of misleading the public about the efficacy of aTyr's lung disease treatment for several months before announcing its trial had not yielded favorable results.
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October 10, 2025
Prospect Medical Gets OK For $45M Yale Health Deal In Ch. 11
A Texas bankruptcy judge Friday approved a $45 million settlement between Yale New Haven Health Services Corp. and Prospect Medical that ends a legal battle over failed hospital sales, as Prospect works toward exiting Chapter 11.
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October 10, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Sullivan, MoFo, Freshfields
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Fifth Third Bancorp acquires Comerica in an all-stock deal, Qualtrics buys experience analytics firm Press Ganey Forsta, and SoftBank buys ABB's robotics division.
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October 09, 2025
Biotronik Wants Full 9th Circ. Review Of Whistleblower Ruling
Biotronik Inc. urged the full Ninth Circuit to review a panel ruling that revived a whistleblower suit alleging the company used unlawful compensation tactics to boost heart-device sales, saying it should have been tossed based on prior disclosures in news articles.
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October 09, 2025
Tivity Health Investors Seek Final OK Of $17M Settlement
An investor in fitness program administrator Tivity Health Inc. has asked a Nashville federal judge for a final nod for an over $17 million deal ending claims the company misled investors about its financial prospects after its $1.3 billion acquisition of troubled weight-loss meal delivery company Nutrisystem.
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October 08, 2025
Del. Judge May Have Mallinckrodt Choose: Injunction Or $10M
A Delaware federal judge said he might ask Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals to choose between getting a competitor's inhaled nitric oxide treatment enjoined, or receiving the entire $9.5 million a jury determined it's owed for infringement.
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October 07, 2025
Aetna COVID-19 Test Provider Sues Insurer For 'Unpaid' $53M
A Nebraska company that provided COVID-19 testing for Aetna has filed suit in California federal court, alleging that the insurer owes it more than $53 million for testing services but has refused to pay up.
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October 07, 2025
Alto Neuroscience Execs Sued Over Rosy Drug Claims
An Alto Neuroscience investor claims CEO Amit Etkin and other directors overstated the efficacy of the psychiatric biotech company's lead drug candidate for treating major depressive disorder, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court that alleges the company's stock price plummeted when the truth came out.
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October 07, 2025
Bausch And Teva Blocked Cheaper IBS Drug, Retailers Say
A slew of retailers on Tuesday accused Bausch Health Cos. Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals of working together to keep the generic version of an irritable bowel syndrome drug off the market until 2028, forcing the retailers and other purchasers of the drug to pay monopoly prices.
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October 07, 2025
Prospect Medical Fights $1M Software Fee Claims In Ch. 11
Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. says the pending Chapter 11 proceedings for its hospitals in California and Connecticut should keep two technology companies from demanding more than $1 million in payment for disputed software and IT contracts, according to Prospect's filings with a Texas bankruptcy court on Monday.
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October 07, 2025
Biogen Says Investors Can't Expand Alzheimer's Drug Suit
Biogen Inc. said a class of investors suing over alleged misleading statements in connection with the rollout of the company's Alzheimer's drug should not be allowed to needlessly delay resolution by filing an amended complaint expanding the class period and adding new legal theories and claims.
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October 07, 2025
Premera Defends IBS Drug Antitrust Claims Against Takeda
Health insurers and self-insured employers represented by Premera Blue Cross urged a Massachusetts federal judge not to nix a series of state law antitrust claims from the broader certified class action accusing Takeda Pharmaceutical of paying Par Pharmaceuticals to delay generic competition to anticonstipation drug Amitiza.
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October 07, 2025
3 Firms Advise On Qualtrics' $6.75B Press Ganey Forsta Buy
Goodwin Procter LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are advising Qualtrics on its agreement to acquire Latham & Watkins LLP-led experience analytics firm Press Ganey Forsta for $6.75 billion, in a deal the companies said will create the "most complete platform designed for experience management."
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October 06, 2025
2 Firms To Lead Humana Investor Suit Over Post-COVID Costs
Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP and The Rosen Law Firm will co-lead consolidated shareholder derivative claims against healthcare giant Humana Inc. alleging its brass made the company downplay the "pent-up demand" that pushed up patient utilization rates on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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October 06, 2025
Law Profs Say CareDx False Ad Verdict Should Stand
Two law professors have urged the Third Circuit to grant medical testing company CareDx's request for another chance to argue why its $45 million false advertising verdict against a rival should be reinstated, saying a ruling nixing the verdict will disallow juries from using circumstantial evidence and encourage false advertisers to "try their luck."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Navigating New Regulations In Healthcare And Other M&A
While notice requirements recently enacted in several states are focused on the healthcare industry for now, this trend could extend to other industries as these requirements are designed to allow regulators to be a step ahead and learn more about a transaction long before it occurs, say Kathleen Premo and Ashley Creech at Epstein Becker.
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New CMS Rule Will Change Nursing Facility Disclosures
A new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services significantly expands disclosure requirements for nursing facilities backed by private equity companies or real estate investment trusts, likely foreshadowing increased oversight that could include more targeted audits, say Janice Davis and Christopher Ronne at Morgan Lewis.
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Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges
Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.