A task force, composed of key antitrust enforcement agencies including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Canadian Competition Bureau, is seeking information from the public regarding the effects of pharmaceutical mergers. This information will be used to update the practices for future pharmaceutical mergers by the task force’s constituent agencies. Following concerns within the … Continue Reading
Reed Smith is pleased to present a virtual life sciences CLE week from November 9 – 13, covering hot litigation and regulatory topics of interest to our pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device clients. Sessions include: The ABCs of an MDL: Lessons learned through the lens of a case The benefits of arbitration for life sciences … Continue Reading
Companies, including those in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, with multinational operations should expect increasing collaboration between U.S. and foreign competition agencies to investigate and prosecute alleged antitrust violations. In light of recent and ongoing investigations by U.S. and UK competition agencies into generic and sole-source drug pricing, the revised guidelines are expected to … Continue Reading
The health care industry has seen a recent shift towards consolidation, driven in part by legislation such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which encourages integration within the industry. As a result, health care entities are increasingly considering opportunities to merge with or acquire other companies. While this can be an exciting prospect … Continue Reading
Reed Smith’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Law Blog recently featured a detailed analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision in FTC v. Actavis, where the court ruled five-to-three that reverse payments, also called pay-for-delay settlements, can violate antitrust laws and are subject to antitrust review under the rule-of-reason. As reverse payments are commonly used by branded drug … Continue Reading
As the dust settles from Tuesday's election, pundits and prognosticators are predicting the future of the world based on highly charged and deeply polarized perspectives. Those predictions are sweeping in scope and many we have seen tend toward dire scenarios - even for the diagnostic imaging industry. The more prudent course is to step back for a moment and assess the situation in a more pragmatic and dispassionate way. With this in mind, we wanted to take this opportunity to describe what we expect to see as health reform efforts continue.… Continue Reading
The Reed Smith Global Regulatory Enforcement Law blog has an interesting post about a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects the Sixth Amendment rights of defendants in high-stakes criminal cases. In Southern Union Co. v. United States, the Court ruled that any fact supporting a “substantial” criminal fine must be found by a jury … Continue Reading
In a precedential decision issued Thursday, In Re: Pharmacy Benefit Managers Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1782), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated a district court order compelling arbitration of antitrust claims, an order which another district court judge vacated after the case was transferred to a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL)s, Based on the law of the case doctrine, the Court of Appeals held that MDL judges may not overturn an order of the transferor court absent a finding of extraordinary circumstances - a conclusion that has broad ramifications for MDL proceedings in general...… Continue Reading
On June 3, 2009, the House Judiciary Courts and Competition Policy Subcommittee will hold a hearing, "Pay to Delay: Are Patent Settlements That Delay Generic Drug Market Entry Anticompetitive?" (http://www.judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_090603.html), sure to interest all prescription drug manufacturers. No witness list is posted yet.… Continue Reading
Articles in This Issue: Provider Networks and Joint Ventures: Avoiding Antitrust Scrutiny Through Clinical Integration Stark II, Phase III Final Rule In the Spotlight: Fraud and Abuse Health Law 101: Fraud and Abuse Recent Reed Smith Publications Click here to read the Spring 2008 issue of Health Law Monitor.… Continue Reading
