On August 31, 2026, the White House announced most-favored-nation (“MFN”) pricing agreements with nine additional pharmaceutical manufacturers: Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and UCB. The agreements bring the total number of manufacturers with MFN deals to 26, which the White House says covers 89 percent of the branded drug market.
In the first six months of 2026, acquirers announced 13 qualifying acquisitions of public biopharma targets worth $66.6 billion in upfront consideration. This survey examines that period and the surge within it: what is driving it, how the deals are structured, and what it means for the parties negotiating the next one. Focusing on the…
Contingent value rights have become a defining feature of biopharma M&A, appearing in under 10% of mid-cap public-target deals before 2019 but a quarter to a third of them in every year since 2023. They let a buyer pay less cash at signing while preserving upside for selling stockholders on a binary clinical, regulatory, or…
On August 3, 2026, the California Supreme Court held in Gilead Tenofovir Cases (Aug. 3, 2026, S283862) ___ Cal.5th ___ (slip opn.), that a drug manufacturer owes no duty of care to users of a non-defective drug when deciding whether and when to commercialize an allegedly safer alternative drug. The Court reached that conclusion on…
This update summarizes noteworthy enforcement activity from the first six months of 2026. We discuss significant federal policy and state legislative developments, including the current status of state false claims statutes. We also analyze the most consequential court decisions of the first half of the year.
Life sciences companies should be aware of a new contract clause and accompanying guidance from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) implementing President Trump’s Executive Order 14398, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors. Effective April 24, 2026, all new Federal solicitations and contracts subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) must contain a new…
Despite recent high-level U.S.-China talks, several recent developments in China have elevated international trade-related compliance risks and challenges for companies with commercial ties to mainland China or dealings with Chinese counterparties. While it is unclear the extent to which these developments move the needle in terms of practical legal and enforcement implications in China, there…
