http://health.law360.com/ The Newswire for Legal Professionals Copyright 2008 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://health.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://health.law360.com/ http://health.law360.com/articles/77452 Eli Lilly and Co. added a fifth generic drugmaker to its bid to block competing versions of its antidepressant Cymbalta Tuesday, suing Actavis Elizabeth LLC over a patent for the blockbuster drug less than a week after filing four similar suits. http://health.law360.com/articles/77452 http://health.law360.com/articles/77513 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened three inspection offices in China on Wednesday, taking the first steps to expand its oversight abroad in response to a long list of foreign food and drug recalls in the past year. http://health.law360.com/articles/77513 http://health.law360.com/articles/77479 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examined the highest number of applications in history in fiscal year 2008, increasing production of patents by an additional 14 percent from the year before, the agency said in its annual review. http://health.law360.com/articles/77479 http://health.law360.com/articles/77411 The state of Nevada has filed a lawsuit accusing Wyeth and Pfizer Inc. of misrepresenting the benefits of popular hormone therapy treatments such as Prempro and Provera and downplaying the risks of cancer and other ailments associated with the drugs. http://health.law360.com/articles/77411 http://health.law360.com/articles/77467 Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG has unleashed a lawsuit alleging veterinary pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories Ltd. infringed a patent for Metacam when seeking regulatory approval for a generic version of the canine anti-inflammatory drug. http://health.law360.com/articles/77467 http://health.law360.com/articles/77491 Indian generics maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has accused Biovail Laboratories International SRL of violating antitrust laws and misleading the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a new set of counterclaims regarding patents for the hypertension drug Cardizem. http://health.law360.com/articles/77491 http://health.law360.com/articles/77420 A federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of an unprecedented New Hampshire law that prevents companies from selling data on physicians' prescribing histories to pharmaceutical sales representatives. http://health.law360.com/articles/77420 http://health.law360.com/articles/77527 Political experts and politicians alike said Wednesday that, while likely attorney general nominee Eric Holder's controversial role in the Clinton-era pardon of a convicted financier whose wife gave money to Democrats might cause political fireworks, it was unlikely to derail a confirmation. http://health.law360.com/articles/77527 http://health.law360.com/articles/77194 An experimental antibiotic developed by drugmaker Theravance Inc. to treat complicated skin infections may cause possible kidney damage, birth defects and death, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's review of the drug. http://health.law360.com/articles/77194 http://health.law360.com/articles/77307 Women attorneys at the largest U.S. law firms continue to earn less than their male counterparts at every stage of practice and are markedly underrepresented in the leadership ranks, according to a survey published Monday by the National Association of Women Lawyers. http://health.law360.com/articles/77307 http://health.law360.com/articles/77298 Third-party financing of litigation and an increasing acceptance of class action lawsuits in European courts have opened companies there up to litigation risks similar to those in the United States, a major British insurance firm reports. http://health.law360.com/articles/77298 http://health.law360.com/articles/77164 A Pennsylvania judge has thrown out a product liability case accusing GlaxoSmithKline PLC of failing to include specific warnings about an increased risk of suicide associated with its antidepressant Paxil after finding that the claims were barred by the state's statute of limitations. http://health.law360.com/articles/77164 http://health.law360.com/articles/76061 With a newly minted administration under President-elect Barack Obama set to sweep into Washington promising more regulation and increased enforcement actions in several sectors, is the era of the crusading state attorney general over? Not necessarily, according to attorneys who monitor federal regulations. http://health.law360.com/articles/76061 http://health.law360.com/articles/77286 An Illinois state jury has reportedly decided that the surviving family members of a woman who died after using a Duragesic-brand pain-killing skin patch manufactured by two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries should receive $16.6 million. http://health.law360.com/articles/77286 http://health.law360.com/articles/77280 An appeals court has affirmed the denial of preliminary injunctions in a lawsuit brought by numerous insurance companies against the administrators of the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement. http://health.law360.com/articles/77280 http://health.law360.com/articles/77310 Alpharma Inc. has filed a preemptive lawsuit against Purdue Pharma LP, the makers of Oxycontin, over the right to market ALO-01, an opioid painkiller with less potential for abuse. http://health.law360.com/articles/77310 http://health.law360.com/articles/77316 Bracing for a sharp decline in profits, partners at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP are reportedly planning to vote for the firm’s managing partner and former chairman to step down from the management committee. http://health.law360.com/articles/77316 http://health.law360.com/articles/77268 Schering Corp. has accused Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. of infringing its latest Clarinex patent more than two years after filing its original lawsuit seeking to block the two drug companies from producing a generic version of the blockbuster allergy treatment. http://health.law360.com/articles/77268 http://health.law360.com/articles/77379 The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Medtronic Inc. over the possible marketing of the medical company's spinal graft product for purposes that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://health.law360.com/articles/77379 http://health.law360.com/articles/77241 Eli Lilly and Co. has brought at least four lawsuits seeking to stop generic pharmaceutical companies from marketing copycat versions of the antidepressant Cymbalta. http://health.law360.com/articles/77241