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Pursuing Progress: Collaborative Transformation in Action

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 3, 2018 | Digital Health, Health M&A, Hospitals & Health Systems, International Health, Life Sciences, Managed Care, PPM/ASC

It’s the industry disruptors, the unusual partnerships, and the cross-border and cross-sector relationships that are driving Collaborative Transformation in the health care and life sciences organizations. But a Collaborative Transformation takes more than signing paperwork and shaking hands. A successful Collaborative Transformation takes cultural integration between non-traditional partners, incorporating new technologies into health care regulatory compliance structures, and so much more. At McDermott, we’ve recently had the opportunity to help our clients pursue their own Collaborative Transformations, and are proud to showcase their achievements.

Innate Pharma Expands its Collaboration with AstraZeneca

McDermott Will & Emery advised Innate Pharma, a French oncology-focused biotech company, in signing a multi-term agreement with AstraZeneca and MedImmune – AstraZeneca’s global biologics research and development arm. This agreement broadens the existing collaboration, aimed at accelerating the development of an oncology portfolio of each of the parties and to provide patients with more rapid access to new therapeutic options. This extended collaboration will permit Innate Pharma to develop and commercially strengthen its investment ability to develop its immuno-oncology portfolio (IO) and its R&D platform. For its part, AstraZeneca will enrich its IO portfolio with new clinical and preclinical programs. For more information on this collaboration, click here.

CVS + Aetna

McDermott is one of the firms that has advised CVS Health in connection with its $69 billion purchase of Aetna. The transaction, one of this year’s largest M&A deals, is expected to transform the US health care sector. For more information on [...]

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Connecting the Dots: Six Lessons from a Biotech M&A Case Study

by Al Sokol | Nov 13, 2018 | Health M&A, International Health, Life Sciences

For biotechs, success involves a several year hike through mazes of complex, cross-border, business, scientific, financial and regulatory issues. During this year’s BIO2018 conference in Boston, McDermott gathered a panel of industry leaders and McDermott practitioners and led a case study assessment of cross-border biotech M&A, linking life sciences hubs in Europe, Asia and North America. I had the opportunity to moderate our panel as we walked through the structuring and closing of an M&A transaction that involved the auction of a fictional US biotech company that has oncology platform IP/technology. While the company described in the case study was fictional as such, the company and its circumstances were a composite of McDermott’s actual deals.

Our panel’s examination of this case study yielded valuable insights into the context, cross-border dynamics, practicalities, opportunities and challenges underlying the growing volume of international life sciences M&A deals. For example, here are six takeaways.

Take a good look in the mirror. First, differentiate between your company’s wants vs. its needs, said Greg Benning, managing director and head of financial advisory at Back Bay Life Sciences Advisors. Review your company’s access to resources, particularly its near term funding, to make sure you can accomplish your development objectives regardless of whether your M&A aspirations are achieved. Next, conduct an in-depth analysis of the company’s platform and its asset portfolio, and assess how third parties will view it. This process should yield a realistic assessment of actionable alternatives. “Having defined the playing [...]

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Collaborative Transformation: Shaping the Future of Health Care, Together

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 19, 2018 | Digital Health, Health M&A, Hospitals & Health Systems, International Health, Life Sciences, Managed Care, PPM/ASC
As the health care and life sciences fields experience ever-increasing levels of disruption, diverse entities across the industry are teaming up to embrace and foster innovation. These new pairings are shaping the future of health care, as organizations come together to tackle the industry’s most pressing issues with redoubled agility and pooled resources.

In an environment of change and uncertainty, this trend of Collaborative Transformation is yielding improved financial outcomes, increased operational efficiencies, and a fresh infusion of diverse talent and perspectives—all of which result in enhanced quality of care.

This is where the McDermott Health and Life Sciences team comes in. As a top-ranked US health law practice and a leader in life sciences with decades of experience advising the leading players in US and cross-border health and life sciences, we have the skill, market insight and ingenuity to partner with you wherever your innovation takes you. Whether you are forming innovative alliances across borders and industries, creating or implementing groundbreaking technologies and services, or restructuring investments to position your organization at the cutting edge of the market, our team can work alongside yours to achieve excellence.

Click here to learn more about McDermott Health, our recent work executing collaborative transformations on behalf of our clients and how we can help your organization form innovative business relationships.

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ONC Expected to Release Proposed Information Blocking Rule Soon

by Daniel F. Gottlieb, James A. Cannatti III and Karen S. Sealander | Oct 17, 2018 | Digital Health, Fraud & Abuse, Hospitals & Health Systems, Life Sciences, Managed Care, Post-Acute Care, PPM/ASC
It has now been one month since the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) sent its proposed information blocking rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for required review.

We expect OMB to approve the much-anticipated proposed rule and ONC to release it soon with the usual opportunity for public comment. While we wait, there are some things that health information technology developers, health information exchanges, health information networks and health care providers who may be subject to the information blocking prohibition and enforcement actions can do to prepare for the upcoming comment period. But before we get to comments, let’s remind ourselves about how we got to this point.

By way of background, Congress asked ONC to produce a report describing the extent of information blocking and a strategy to address it. ONC submitted that report to Congress in 2015 (the 2015 Report) noting, among other things, enforcement authority gaps and indicating that successful information blocking prevention strategies would likely require congressional intervention. In the 21st Century Cures Act, which became law in 2016, Congress granted the HHS Office of Inspector General investigative and enforcement authorities for prohibited information blocking conduct. The Cures Act defined information blocking as a practice that “except as required by law or specified by the Secretary…, is likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or [...]

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We’ll see you at BIO 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | May 31, 2018 | Digital Health, FDA, Life Sciences
McDermott is gearing up for an exciting week of programming during the 2018 BIO International Convention. A number of McDermott partners will on the ground as panelists and moderators across a range of programs during BIO and we hope to see you there!

Thursday, May 31 | Al Sokol will moderate a panel discussion on “Getting and Leveraging Funding” at Mass Life Sciences Innovation Day.

Friday, June 1 | Dale Van Demark will co-moderate the panel “Digital Health – Hospital of the Future” during the IBA 6th Annual World Life Sciences Conference.

Saturday, June 2 | Emmanuelle Trombe will moderate the panel, “Biopharmaceutical Market: Collaboration vs. M&A,” and Al Sokol will be a speaker on the panel “Hot Topics in Venture Capital Investments,” during the IBA 6th Annual World Life Sciences Conference.

Sunday, June 3 | Emmanuel Trombe will moderate, and Veleka Peeples-Dyer will be on the panel, “What is Your Regulatory Strategy?” during the Boston-Paris Biotechnology Summit.

Monday, June 4 | Byron Kalogerou and Jennifer Bock will speak to business investors about the legal issues involved with establishing or expanding an operation in the United States during the SelectUSA FDI Seminar at BIO 2018.

Roger Kuan and Kristina Bieker-Brady will present “Operation Valuation: Maximizing the Value of your Asset Portfolio” during the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference.

Tuesday, June 5 | Sarah Hogan will moderate “Paths to Success in Life Sciences: A [...]

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Q&A: Shifting Trends in Specialty Pharmacy to Continue in 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery and Karen Owen Gibbs | Apr 10, 2018 | FDA, Health M&A, Health Private Equity, Hospitals & Health Systems, Life Sciences, PPM/ASC
Specialty pharmacy is not going away any time soon – by 2020, it’s expected that the pharmacy industry’s revenue will exceed $483 billion, with almost all growth as a result of specialty drugs (high-cost medications used to treat chronic conditions, such as cancer). It’s also estimated that the next generation of pharmaceutical “blockbusters” will be primarily specialty products. As the make-up of the pharmaceutical market shifts, we’re also seeing changes with the role of pharmacy benefit managers and other medical groups in the process. How are these shifts in specialty pharmacy impacting the health care system as a whole?

We asked Karen Gibbs, McDermott partner and former VP and Senior Counsel at CVS, to share her expertise on the subject and her thoughts on what’s to come.

Q. Investments in niche sectors of pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy and pharmacy benefit management have gained huge traction recently. What’s driving the shift away from more traditional pharmacies?

A. Traditional pharmacies are retail establishments and have been suffering from the same earnings pressure that all retail establishments have endured. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) typically own mail and specialty pharmacy operations, which generate revenue in a manner complementary to that derived from the pharmacy benefit management services. The margin on specialty pharmacy and PBM services is significantly more than retail pharmacy. (more…)

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