Listening Sessions on Drug Price Negotiations Will Be Live Streamed and Opened to the Public This Fall -
In this Alert, we provide an update regarding the first 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiation selected under the...more
Almost 11 months after President Biden signed the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (“Negotiation Program”) into law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued revised guidance that clearly details...more
Leaves Window Open for Defense Based on Subjective Belief -
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in a consolidated appeal of two healthcare qui tam cases that removes a very powerful defense from...more
6/9/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Safeco ,
Safeco Insurance Co of America v Burr ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Thomas Proctor v Safeway Inc ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
The medical product and healthcare service industry is one of the most closely regulated sectors in the U.S. Several agencies actively exercise authority with constantly changing legislation and policies to keep pace with...more
2/13/2023
/ False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
Telemedicine
Wilson Sonsini is pleased to present the latest edition of The Life Sciences Report. This issue features an article on interlocking boards in the life sciences sector and the antitrust risk they pose to firms and investors;...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act) includes prescription drug provisions that have significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry and Medicare beneficiaries, such as allowing the U.S. Department of Health...more
On May 25, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance document intended to help pharmacists and wholesale drug distributors understand and comply with its final rule regarding the import of certain...more
In May 2022, the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the launch of a new program for expediting the development of new treatment options for rare...more
On May 4, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to five companies for selling products labeled as containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) in ways that violate the Federal Food,...more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch (CPB) released its first-ever annual "recent highlights" report. The report describes the CPB's accomplishments from October...more
4/26/2022
/ Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Opioid ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Vaccinations
Some Worry Reduction in Pharmaceutical Revenues May Impact New Drug R&D and Innovation -
Lowering prescription drug pricing has been a hotly debated issue well before 2022 and is expected to continue in 2022. In November...more
On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Biogen, Inc.'s Aduhelm (aducanumab) to treat Alzheimer's disease through the FDA Accelerated Approval Program in a landmark decision. The FDA's approval...more
On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it was terminating the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Unapproved Drugs Initiative (UDI), which is further described in...more
On November 16, 2020, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert (the Alert) regarding speaker programs hosted by pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Speaker programs are company-sponsored...more
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement and proposed rule clarifying the types of evidence that the FDA considers when determining the "intended use" of a product. Intended use is important...more
Yesterday, the President issued an executive order (EO) on drug pricing for pharmaceuticals covered under Medicare parts B and D. The EO, in essence, proposes a form of price controls for drugs covered under Medicare parts B...more
Recently, the President issued an executive order (EO) for the purpose of ensuring that discounts offered on prescription drugs be passed down to patients. The subject matter of EO represents a key plank of a platform to 1)...more
Against a backdrop of an ongoing, disruptive COVID-19 pandemic; natural security concerns about disruptions in the availability of drugs, personal protective equipment, and diagnostic tests—and the widely variable quality of...more
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-19 virus, is complex, and the number, type, and severity of symptoms often vary from patient-to-patient. COVID-19 complications and outcomes can vary by age, the presence of...more
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed Public Law 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), the federal government's latest and most ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis. As yet,...more
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance surrounding the use of 3D printing on medical devices, accessories, components, and parts during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
4/2/2020
/ 3D Printing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Supplies ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
U.S. prescription drugs can broadly be divided into two categories: 1) small molecule drugs and 2) biologics. Small molecule drugs tend to be chemically synthesized and often have molecular weights under 1,000 Daltons....more
3/9/2020
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Biologics ,
Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 ,
Biosimilars ,
BPCIA ,
FDA Approval ,
Final Guidance ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
Pharmacogenetics, although in its infancy, has the potential to help predict how individual patients will respond to a given drug. Pharmacogenetics (or pharmacogenomics) is the study of "how genes affect a person's response...more
Guidance Relevant for Purposes of Determining Orphan Drug Designation and Exclusivity. Finalizes Six Other Gene Therapies.
Two "hot" areas in drug development are i) gene therapies, and ii) therapies for orphan diseases....more
The 21st Century Cures Act created the Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation in recognition of the growing importance of regenerative medical therapies. An RMAT designation conveys significant regulatory...more