Defense Bar Commentary Highlights Practice Points for Biotech Securities Litigation

A panel of corporate advisors updated their 2017 survey of securities litigation involving development-stage biotech companies, providing important practice points for the institutional investor and concluding that biotech start-ups do not pose a greater securities class action risk compared to other companies. Stronger cases involved plaintiffs making credible allegations that defendants intentionally misrepresented data or facts about their interactions with the FDA, omitted adverse regulator feedback, or presented misleading information about regulatory milestones or assessments.

DOJ Updates Guidance on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs

The Department of Justice-Criminal Division recently updated its internal guidance to federal prosecutors for evaluating corporate compliance programs. Despite the lack of major substantive changes, the updated guidance encourages prosecutors to take the risk profile of corporations into account when evaluating its compliance programs.