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Client Highlights
8.09.24
Wilson Sonsini Advises Recursion on Definitive Agreement with Exscientia
On August 8, 2024, Recursion and Exscientia announced the companies have entered into a definitive agreement, combining Recursion, a leading clinical stage technology-enabled biotech company decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery, with Exscientia, a technology-driven clinical stage drug design and development company, committed to creating more effective medicines for patients, faster. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Recursion on the transaction.
Alerts
8.08.22
Seventh Circuit Affirms Denial of Claims Brought Against AbbVie
The Seventh Circuit recently confirmed that Actavis is the appropriate framework to assess biosimilar patent settlements, despite the differences in the regulatory structure—the first appellate court ruling on this issue. In a decision authored by Judge Easterbrook, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Illinois Court's decision dismissing antitrust claims brought against AbbVie and biosimilar Humira manufacturers by indirect purchasers of Humira. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, et al. v. AbbVie Inc. et al., No. 20-2402 (7th Cir. 2022). In a short and pointed opinion the court held that AbbVie's obtaining and invoking of 132 patents did not constitute monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and that AbbVie's patent settlements with biosimilar Humira manufacturers in Europe and the United States were not unlawful reverse payments under FTC v. Actavis, 570 U.S. 136 (2013) because they were separate settlements under distinct patent regimes, and not part of one global settlement that exchanged early entry in one jurisdiction for delayed entry in another, as the plaintiffs alleged.
Client Highlights
4.18.22
Wilson Sonsini Advises Pensando on $1.9 Billion Acquisition by AMD
On April 4, 2022, AMD announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pensando for approximately $1.9 billion before working capital and other adjustments. Pensando’s distributed services platform includes a high-performance, fully programmable packet processor and comprehensive software stack that accelerate networking, security, storage, and other services for cloud, enterprise, and edge applications. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, following satisfaction of customary closing conditions including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Alerts
8.24.21
Antitrust Enforcement in the Biden Administration: Assessing the M&A Risk
More than halfway through year one of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are flexing their muscles and confirming the early consensus view that antitrust risk would be a significant consideration for companies contemplating strategic transactions. At the same time, as the agencies themselves have noted, M&A is at an all-time high. This means that assessment of risk and mitigation strategies continue to be essential for any firm considering a transaction. We highlight below the takeaways from the latest developments at the U.S. antitrust agencies.
Alerts
4.18.21
Fifth Circuit Upholds Federal Trade Commission Ruling in Impax Laboratories, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission and Grants Substantial Deference to the FTC
On April 13, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in Impax Laboratories, Inc v. Federal Trade Commission, affirming the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) unanimous decision that Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s settlement with Impax Laboratories, Inc. constituted a reverse payment and violated Section 5 of the FTC Act. In so doing, the Fifth Circuit reiterated the rule-of-reason burden-shifting framework for reverse payment cases, and also granted considerable deference to the FTC.