Welcome to the Goodwin’s Life Sciences Perspectives Blog, a resource specifically aimed at addressing your most frequent and pressing issues and providing insights on current developments.

The challenges across the life sciences industry are as abundant as the opportunities. From tightening federal regulations and market forces to revolutionary innovations, the headwinds are stiff and shifting but they are navigable. We will be tracking emerging issues and developments on private and public company matters, licensing deals and collaborations, patent and IP matters, FDA and healthcare regulatory compliance, and European and Asian developments for life sciences companies. Sign up to receive postings from Goodwin’s Life Sciences Perspectives blog by clicking here.

 

Propsci Perspectives: LabCentral/BioLabs

The Goodwin Propsci team has partnered with several well-known companies for a short video series that explores what’s happening in the real estate life sciences industry. In our latest installment, Johannes Fruehauf, CEO of LabCentral/BioLabs, joins Goodwin’s Nicole Riley and Jim Barrett. LabCentral/BioLabs is a first-of-its-kind shared laboratory space designed as a launchpad for high-potential life…

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USPTO Publishes Notice Calling Out Pharmaceutical Industry

President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, 86 FR 36987 (2021), expressed concerns about the patent system being misused to unnecessarily inhibit or delay entry of generic drugs or biologics to the marketplace for years, denying Americans access to lower cost drugs.  The President called for…

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The Potential Impact of State Abortion Laws on Reproductive Health Apps

Millions of women use reproductive health applications (or “apps”) to track menstrual cycles, ovulation, and pregnancy. These apps provide women that use the rhythm method for birth control and women seeking to become pregnant access to more accurate information about their reproductive systems. To accurately track a user’s reproductive cycles,…

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Taking Security Interests In Human Reproductive Tissue: Clarifying Lender Options Under Federal And State Law

Can human reproductive tissue (“HRT”) held by a fertility clinic serve as collateral for a loan to (or investment in) the fertility clinic? In short, the scope and extent of governmental regulation addressing the sale of or transfer of ownership interests in HRT held by a fertility clinic varies from…

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The Future of Patents for Patients: USPTO Temporarily Extends Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program (Patents for Patients) and Requests Public Input On Next Steps

On June 29, 2022, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it was temporarily extending its Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program (”Patents 4 Patients” or “P4P”) to September 30, 2022, and also issued a request for public input on the P4P. Under the P4P, Applicants can file a…

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New OIG Advisory Opinion Impacts Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Company Funding of Continuing Education Programs

OIG Advisory Opinion 22-14 (June 29, 2022) could have significant implications for how life sciences companies (pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics test makers) contribute towards continuing education (“CE”) programs for healthcare providers (“HCPs”).  Specifically, in AO 22-14, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) rejects…

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Whistleblower Lawyers Use False Claims Act to Target Private Equity Firms Invested In Healthcare and Life Sciences

Recent developments demonstrate that the health care industry – including life sciences companies – continues to be subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny and enforcement risk. This alert addresses the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) use of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) to pursue private equity investors and their portfolio companies,…

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Potential AI/ML Learnings to Come from FDA Public Advisory Committee Meeting on Skin Lesion Analyzer Technology in Late July

On July 28, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public advisory committee meeting to discuss skin lesion analyzer (SLA) technology and its application to detecting skin cancers in various patient care settings. This meeting of the General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel of the Medical…

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Canadian Patent Examination Will Soon Be More Expensive, Less Flexible and Require Additional Care in Prosecution to Avoid Loss of Rights

Canadian Patent Examination Significant fee increases will be effective at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) on October 3, 2022 related to excess claims (claims over 20) and the number of examination reports it issues during prosecution. These changes may negatively impact the breadth of patent protection an applicant could…

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