Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, its chief justice had a higher authority in mind.
Biotechnology & Medical
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To mandate or not to mandate: Employers preparing for COVID-19 vaccine
While the pandemic continues to rage and pharmaceutical makers get closer to developing an effective vaccine, Americans’ willingness to get inoculated has slipped. Battles over the vaccination will probably spill into the workplace, and employers are already starting to consider policies and plans for ensuring their workers’ health along with making possible accommodations to those who object to getting the shots.
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Feds select Indiana to be biotech hub, making it eligible for millions in funding
Indiana has been chosen for one of 31 technology hubs across the United States that will support growth in industries considered vital to economic development and national security.
Medicine without doctors? State laws are changing who treats patients
Florida and Georgia are two of many states contending with how much independence to give nurse practitioners and other medical professionals. It’s a question that has become emotional for medical providers and time-consuming for many state and federal groups.
Elizabeth Holmes enters Texas prison to begin 11-year sentence for notorious blood-testing hoax
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes entered a Texas prison Tuesday where she could spend the next 11 years for overseeing a blood-testing hoax that became a parable about greed and hubris in Silicon Valley.
Roche Diagnostics whistleblower wins $3.6M in settlement agreement
A former manager at Roche Diagnostics Corp. who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Indianapolis-based company two years ago has won $3.625 million as her reward in a $12.5 million settlement agreement.
Med-mal plaintiffs reach $66M settlement against northwest Indiana cardiologist
A settlement exceeding $66 million has been announced in favor of more than 260 patients who claimed they were the victims of malpractice at the hands of a northwest Indiana doctor who allegedly performed unnecessary cardiac procedures and device implantations.
Virtual CLE today focuses on patents, politics of COVID-19
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Eli Lilly & Co. and Roche are partnering for a virtual discussion today, “Pharmaceutical Innovations: Patents and the Politics of COVID-19.”
COA narrows claims against Bayer in Essure birth control defect case
A panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals narrowed the claims of women who sued pharmaceutical giant Bayer claiming alleged defects in the permanent birth control device Essure. The ruling Wednesday came after the Indiana Supreme Court remanded the case for the appeals court to address the viability of plaintiffs’ claims.
Trump administration $21M gamble on Pepcid as a COVID remedy fizzles
As the coronavirus began its deadly march through the world, two well-respected American doctors identified a possible but seemingly unlikely remedy: Pepcid, the heartburn medication found on drugstore shelves everywhere. There were no published data or studies to suggest its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus. But that didn’t stop the Trump administration from granting a $21 million emergency contract that is now the subject of whistleblower complaints.
7th Circuit affirms ruling for Cook in medical-supply dispute
Despite arguments from both sides, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that while a medical supply company breached a distribution agreement with a medical supply manufacturer, the former was not liable for the breach.
IndyBar: Indiana Supreme Court Waives Limitations on Distance Education Courses Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency, the Indiana Supreme Court has issued an order amending the limitations on allowable distance education for attorneys and judges in Indiana.
AG Hill leads fight to preserve fetal tissue ban
The coronavirus crisis has renewed the battle over fetal tissue research, with Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill leading the effort to preserve the ban on federal funding.
Cook Medical wins new trial in product lawsuit after judge admits he erred
A federal judge has vacated a $3 million jury award against Cook Medical, saying a Georgia woman who sued the Bloomington-based device maker “did not have overwhelming evidence” to show the company’s implanted blood-clot filter was defective or caused her injuries.
Lilly wins another patent infringement case over cancer drug Alimta
Eli Lilly and Co. has won another patent-infringement lawsuit against a competitor who was preparing to launch an alternative form of the chemotherapy drug Alimta prior to its patent expiration in May 2022.
J&J agrees to $117M pelvic mesh device settlement
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to a $117 million settlement with multiple states, including Indiana, over allegations it deceptively marketed its pelvic mesh products, which support women’s sagging pelvic organs.
7th Circuit: Corruption concerns regarding ex-Biomet employee not defamation
A former Biomet employee has lost his argument before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that he was defamed by his former employer when it included his name in a list for the Department of Justice as part of a corruption investigation.
Justices to hear sales rep’s nonsolicitation dispute with ex-employer
Indiana Supreme Court justices will hear oral argument next week in a dispute between a medical components company and one of its former employees after several other former employees left the company to take sales positions together elsewhere.
Medicine as a public good topic of McKinney book talk, CLE
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law professor Fran Quigley will speak about his latest book, “Prescription for the People: An Activist’s Guide to Making Medicine Affordable for All,” the school announced Wednesday.
Pharmacy boss blamed for meningitis outbreak gets 9 years
The co-owner of a pharmacy responsible for the deaths of 76 people was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison after he tearfully apologized to victims who described watching their loved ones die or enduring excruciating physical pain from a 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroids.
Drug makers being probed by states over opioid marketing
State attorneys general from across the U.S., including Indiana, have started a joint investigation into whether drug manufacturers are illegally marketing and selling opioids, a critical question as the country faces an epidemic leading to tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.