The Week at Ropes & Gray: Deals and More Deals; Commentary on New Medical Device Regulations in China; Cloud Security Issues; FDA Research Policies; and Some Nice Kudos for the Firm

Weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:

• It’s been a busy week for deals, which have ranged from the acquisition of a broker-dealer, to the creation of a strategic partnership for an asset management firm, to the acquisition of a social media insights company, and even the acquisition of a wine company:
  • A London-based team advised a new client, Pulsant, on its acquisition of LayerV, a specialist public cloud solution integration company.
  • A separate deal team in Boston represented DuPage Medical Group in a strategic partnership with Ares Management, a global alternative asset management firm.
  • We also advised LPL Financial in its acquisition of National Planning Holdings, Inc., an independent broker-dealer.
  • A team represented MarketCast and Kohlberg & Company in the acquisition of Fizziology, a social insights and analytics company.
  • And the firm advised Duckhorn Wine Company in its acquisition of Calera Wine Company.

• To meet guidelines established by China's Food and Drug Administration, local and multinational medical technology companies must upgrade device safety and effectiveness for products at every stage of their life cycle. This white paper, co-authored with McKinsey & Company, suggests that regulators and companies can shape policy in a collaborative way to balance the interests of patients, the healthcare system and the medical technology industry.
  
• On July 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidance that announced it would permit the waiver of informed consent for minimal-risk research. The FDA’s new policy is expected to help pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies collect real world evidence and data from low-risk research activities to support regulatory submissions to the FDA. This article, which was originally published by Law360, examines the new guidance and provides recommendations for companies and institutions conducting FDA-regulated research.
• A report released by BTI Consulting Group highlighted Ropes & Gray as one of only 10 law firms to be consistently recommended by corporate counsel for more than 15 years in a row. “We are gratified to be recommended consistently by our clients, year after year, especially because providing unsurpassed service is an area of intense focus at Ropes & Gray,” said Ropes & Gray chair Brad Malt. Separately, Ropes & Gray IP litigation partner Andrew Thomases was named one of California’s top IP lawyers by the Daily Journal, while Best Lawyers in America 2018 named 10 partners to their annual “Lawyer of the Year” ranking.
• Follow us on Twitter @RopesGray for legal insights and the latest firm news.