Policy & Compliance
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April 14, 2025
FTC Joins DOJ In Targeting Anticompetitive Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry Monday to look into reducing regulations that are hindering competition, following a similar move by the U.S. Department of Justice last month.
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April 14, 2025
Takeda Gets Actos Case Paused For Class Cert. Review
A New York federal court has paused a lawsuit accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals of inflating the price of its diabetes treatment, Actos, by delaying the entry of generic alternatives, and took a scheduled July trial off the calendar, as the company appeals a class certification ruling.
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April 14, 2025
Healthcare Duo Joins Carlton Fields From Mass. Boutique
Carlton Fields announced Monday that a pair of experienced healthcare attorneys joined the firm's Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida, offices after a stint with Massachusetts boutique Kajko Weisman & Colasanti LLP.
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April 14, 2025
Sandoz Sues Amgen Over Enbrel Biosimilar
Sandoz accused Amgen of illegally blocking biosimilar competition to its blockbuster Enbrel drug for arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, alleging that the company used strategic acquisitions and illegal patent extensions to fend off challengers in the space and inflate U.S. prices for its drug.
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April 11, 2025
Amgen Can't Ditch Regeneron's Bundling Antitrust Suit
A Delaware federal judge on Thursday denied Amgen's bid to toss antitrust litigation brought by Regeneron accusing its rival of using a bundling scheme to increase the sales of its cholesterol drug Repatha and push competitors out of the market.
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April 11, 2025
Express Scripts Judge Asks If Khan's FTC Exit Affects Suit
The Missouri federal judge overseeing Express Scripts' lawsuit accusing the Federal Trade Commission of defaming it with a report excoriating the pharmacy benefits manager for allegedly inflating drug costs asked the parties Friday if new leadership at the commission affects the case that significantly targets former Chair Lina Khan.
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April 11, 2025
Telehealth Co. Sued Over 2024 Data Breach
A company that helps healthcare providers manage after-hours patient calls was hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court Friday alleging that it failed to secure user data prior to a 2024 breach that exposed the sensitive information of nearly 1 million people.
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April 11, 2025
Fla. Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud Over Opioid OD Drug
A Florida-based pharmacy has agreed to plead guilty to healthcare fraud and to pay more than $1 million to settle civil claims it submitted false authorizations for an expensive opioid overdose treatment to federal insurers.
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April 10, 2025
AbbVie Wants ND, SD Drug Pricing Laws Blocked
Drugmaker AbbVie Inc. on Thursday asked federal courts to block new drug-pricing laws in both North Dakota and South Dakota, alleging that the measures requiring the company to transfer products to certain pharmacies at discounted prices are unconstitutional.
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April 10, 2025
Vanda Sues FDA To Block Off-Label Use Drug Promo Regs
A pharmaceutical company, a Texas physician and an often-jet lagged traveler sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Texas federal court Wednesday seeking to block marketing restrictions on the off-label uses of FDA-approved drugs, arguing that long-standing rules and Biden-era guidance runs afoul of the First Amendment.
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April 10, 2025
Calif. Centers Used 'Body Brokers' In $10M Scam, BCBS Says
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma slammed two California recovery centers and their owners with a lawsuit Thursday, alleging they spearheaded a $10 million kickback scheme to employ "body brokers" to find Indigenous patients for substance treatment facilities where they went to appalling lengths to stop them from leaving.
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April 10, 2025
Holmes Seeks Full 9th Circ. Review Of Theranos Fraud Appeal
Convicted Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes has asked the Ninth Circuit for en banc review of a panel's decision to affirm her criminal fraud conviction and 11-year prison sentence, saying problems with the opinion included a "time-warping relevance theory."
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April 10, 2025
Man Admits To $12.5M PPE Investment Fraud
A California man pled guilty Thursday to defrauding investors of $12.5 million by telling them he had a business opportunity to manufacture personal protective equipment and to create an aerosol product that would kill the coronavirus, Texas federal prosecutors said.
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April 10, 2025
Mich. Justices Mull Hospital's Liability For Contract Doc's Acts
The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday weighed a Corewell Health hospital's possible vicarious liability for independent physicians practicing within the hospital, with one justice pushing back on the idea that liability would be limited to emergency rooms.
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April 09, 2025
Mass. Justices Asked To Raise Bar For Pension, Benefit Loss
Massachusetts' highest court was asked on Wednesday to adopt a more expansive interpretation of what constitutes cruel or unusual punishment or an excessive fine in the case of a former state trooper whose $1 million public pension and healthcare benefits were forfeited after his conviction in an overtime fraud case.
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April 09, 2025
2nd Circ. Allows Takeda To Appeal Actos Antitrust Class Cert.
A split Second Circuit will allow Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. to immediately appeal a New York federal judge's ruling certifying two classes of direct purchasers and end payors in consolidated antitrust actions accusing the company of unlawfully inflating the price of its diabetes treatment Actos by delaying the entry of generic alternatives.
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April 09, 2025
Fertility Care Concerns Linger As PWFA Regs Face Revision
Efforts to pare down the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's regulations requiring workplace accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions have centered largely on abortion, but experts warn that access to fertility treatment — which workers seek more frequently — may also become harder to get.
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April 09, 2025
Data Co. Can't Make DOL Accept Health Plan, Judge Says
A data-mining company can't force the U.S. Department of Labor to acknowledge that a health insurance plan offered in exchange for participants' user data is covered by federal benefits law, a Texas federal judge ruled, saying the case's thin record prevented the court from deciding issues the Fifth Circuit told it to consider.
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April 09, 2025
Religious Mission Justifies Philly Injection Site, 3rd Circ. Told
Counsel for a nonprofit seeking to open a safe injection site in Philadelphia told the Third Circuit Wednesday that it qualified as a religious organization immune from prosecution, despite not having any spiritual language in its incorporation documents.
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April 08, 2025
NJ Hospital Can Face Claims In Life Support Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey appeals court won't let a hospital escape claims that it wrongfully took a patient off life support, saying Tuesday the trial court was too hasty in tossing the suit under the New Jersey Declaration of Death Act.
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April 08, 2025
Calif. Bill Aims To Limit Insurer Control Over Addiction Care
A number of U.S. states have made it illegal for insurance providers to override a physician's judgment concerning the addiction treatments necessary for their patient, be it for inpatient care or other kinds of therapies. A recently introduced bill could make California the latest to join the trend.
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April 08, 2025
5th Circ. Orders New Trial In $140M Healthcare Fraud Case
A Fifth Circuit panel shot down a bid from a suspect in a $140 million healthcare fraud scheme to forestall a second trial after alleged prosecutorial misconduct sank the first, finding the government hadn't intentionally withheld evidence.
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April 08, 2025
OIG Finds $1.8M Of Potential 'Overbillings' In VA Contract
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General said Tuesday that a transportation services contractor may have overbilled the department by about $1.8 million over two years and recommended that VA contracting officials consider whether they could or should try to recover any money.
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April 08, 2025
Expert And 'Worthlessness Theory' Ejected In Valsartan MDL
Patients and insurers who claim they were ripped off when purchasing the contaminated blood pressure medication Valsartan won't be able to argue that the drug was worthless as a matter of law, a New Jersey federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation has ruled, casting doubt that the plaintiffs will secure a full refund for their purchase.
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April 08, 2025
Medicare Drug Price Plan Tramples Constitution, 3rd Circ. Told
New Jersey federal court rulings preserving the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' ability to negotiate prices with drug companies should be overturned on constitutional grounds, pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Novartis told the Third Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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The OIG Report: Preparing For Oversight In 2025
Across sectors, Office of Inspector General work plans and challenge reports for 2025 provide a trove of information on the issues and industries that will likely be the focus of government oversight in the year to come, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.
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5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024
The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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How New Fraud Enforcement Tool Affects Gov't Contractors
Government contractors will likely face greater scrutiny under the recently enacted Administrative False Claims Act, which broadens federal agencies' authority to pursue low-dollar fraud claims, but contractors may also find the act makes settlement of such claims easier to negotiate, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Consultants Should Be Aware Of DOJ's Potential New Reach
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent first-of-its-kind settlement with McKinsey & Co. indicates not only the DOJ's more aggressive stance toward businesses' potential criminal wrongdoings, but also the benefits of self-disclosure and cooperation when wrongdoing becomes apparent, says Dom Caamano at Kibler Fowler.
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Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025
With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.
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10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024
In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.
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The Future Of GLP-1 Policy After Drug Shortage Ends
If and when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines that GLP-1 RA drugs are no longer in short supply, regulators will face questions of how to balance access to GLP-1 RAs with statutory and policy considerations applicable to compounded drugs, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2024
From a Florida federal court’s ruling that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision is unconstitutional to a record-breaking number of whistleblower tips filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, employers saw significant developments in the federal and state whistleblower landscapes this year, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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How White Collar Defense Attys Can Use Summary Witnesses
Few criminal defense attorneys have successfully utilized summary witnesses in the past, but several recent success stories show that it can be a worthwhile trial tactic to help juries understand the complex decision-making at issue, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Nutraceutical Patent Insights As Market Heats Up
Companies entering the expanding nutraceutical market and seeking patents to protect their innovations should evaluate successful nutraceutical claim language and common patent challenges in this field, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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How White Collar Attys Can Use Mythic Archetypes At Trial
A careful reading of a classic screenwriting guide shows that fairy tales and white collar trials actually have a lot in common, and defense attorneys would do well to tell a hero’s journey at trial, relying on universal character archetypes to connect with the jury, says Jack Sharman at Lightfoot Franklin.
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What 2024 Election Means For Drugs, Medicare And Medicaid
With Republicans running the White House, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, the incoming administration is likely to provide pathways — through new initiatives and others returning from Trump's previous presidency — for a range of potential changes to drug pricing, Medicare and Medicaid, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case
After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.