The May 12, 2025, memo from the head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division highlights 10 “high-impact” areas as the focus of DOJ’s criminal enforcement efforts. (See our May 14, 2025, client alert “In a New...more
5/16/2025
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Fraud ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Government Agencies ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
White Collar Crimes
On May 12, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the executive order (EO) “Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing To American Patients.” The EO sets forth policy positions that attempt to further rein in drug...more
5/14/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
On April 29, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced a $202 million civil False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Gilead based on allegations that the company’s speaker program...more
5/6/2025
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Settlement ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
Companies that interact with FDA are likely to find that the layoff of 3,500 employees on April 1, 2025, affects their dealings in a variety of ways....more
On April 15, 2025, President Trump issued the executive order “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” aimed at lowering the prices of prescription drugs and biologics, encouraging competition in the drug...more
Dr. Martin Makary has been confirmed by the Senate as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Makary is taking the helm at FDA during an unprecedented time for the agency, which has been subject...more
3/27/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On February 18, 2025, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously decided that in order to transform an Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) violation into a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of False...more
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has been confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this capacity, RFK Jr. will oversee 13 agencies that are critical to U.S. health policy,...more
2/13/2025
/ Alternative Medicine ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Research and Development ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations
Since the announcement that president-elect Donald Trump would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), media reports have featured opinions from...more
1/23/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Safety ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GRAS ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
User Fees
Key Points -
- It remains to be seen what priorities Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marty Makary might set if confirmed as HHS secretary and FDA commissioner, respectively.
- The Trump administration will likely focus on drug...more
1/21/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Trump Administration
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA or Agency) final rule on Additional Conditions for Nonprescription Use (ACNU) paves the way for some drugs that are currently available only with a prescription to switch to OTC where a...more
What Are GLP-1s? Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, also known as GLP-1 drugs, are a class of medications that mimic the action of the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, which is involved in the regulation of blood...more
Circuit Split Widens Over AKS-Based FCA Causation Element -
The Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) continues to form the basis of hundreds of millions of dollars of annual recoveries for the government under the federal False...more
3/25/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Personal Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Reform
In this issue of our newsletter on developments impacting the life sciences industry, we examine topics including how the increased DOJ and FDA focus on cybersecurity issues could lead to new theories of False Claims Act...more
11/3/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hospitals ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
OCR ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Telehealth ,
Tracking Systems
On September 29, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would end its long-standing policy of enforcement discretion with respect to regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) (the...more
10/3/2023
/ Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
In 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) entered into 31 new corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) with companies and individuals in lieu of exercising its permissive exclusion...more
Embedded in the thousands of pages of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (the omnibus legislation) that President Joe Biden signed into law on December 29, 2022, is a section that amends the Food, Drug and Cosmetic...more
1/6/2023
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
FDA Approval ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HCEI ,
Information Sharing ,
Joe Biden ,
Life Sciences ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 public health emergency in 2020, the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) entered into the highest number of corporate integrity...more
On November 16, 2020, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert regarding the inherent fraud and abuse risks associated with...more
11/25/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fraud Alerts ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Speaker Programs
On July 10, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) announced plans to resume domestic facility inspections following the March 2020 suspension of most foreign and domestic facility inspections as a result...more
7/15/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Domestic Corporations ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Health ,
Rating System ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safety Inspections ,
Tobacco Regulations
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a proposed rule that would make sweeping changes to the discount and rebate arrangements between drug manufacturers on the one hand and Medicare Part D plans and...more
2/5/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Manufacturers ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rebates ,
Safe Harbors
On October 30, 2018, Skadden hosted its Eighth Annual Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Enforcement and Litigation Seminar in New York City, which focused on U.S. enforcement issues faced by companies throughout the industry....more
12/13/2018
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethical Standards ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FDA Approval ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
Kickbacks ,
Life Sciences ,
Materiality ,
Medical Devices ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PHRMA ,
Popular ,
Product Labels ,
Rebates ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sunshine Act ,
Transparency ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Whistleblowers
Panelists examined major enforcement actions from 2017 and identified key trends. Aggressive Enforcement With a Decrease in High-Dollar Settlements. Panelists noted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues its...more
12/5/2017
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Life Sciences ,
Materiality ,
Medical Devices ,
Off-Label Promotion ,
OIG ,
Patient Assistance Programs ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar