Pharmacy

Institutional & Retail Pharmacy Providers

Institutional and retail pharmacy providers face a complex and intricate web of business and regulatory challenges.  Benesch prides itself on being a leader in providing innovative solutions to the institutional and retail pharmacy providers to help them confront these issues. Some of our experience includes:

Compliance Issues

We assist clients with compliance-related matters such as conducting internal investigations, drafting policies and procedures, implementing compliance programs, and training management and sales forces. We also assist in the drafting of corporate compliance plans for institutional pharmacy providers.

Contracting and Fraud and Abuse Counseling

We counsel manufacturers on matters such as agreements with third party payors, discounting and rebate practices, consolidated billing requirements, and handling gift and other business courtesies.

Government Investigations

We assist clients in responding to criminal and civil federal and state investigations on kickback issues as well as on matters arising under the False Claims Act.  A number of the investigations we have handled have involved issues of great significance to the industry as a whole.

Pricing Counseling

We regularly counsel pharmaceutical companies facing issues related to Average Wholesale Price, class of trade pricing and Medicaid Rebates.

Civil Litigation

We have represented a publicly-held institutional pharmacy provider in litigation matters involving contracts with customers and providers, labor and employment issues, and regulatory matters.

Examples of Engagements Include:

• Represented a specialty pharmacy specializing in providing institutional pharmacy services to behavioral and mental health providers, in general counsel, corporate, including financing and contracting, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory matters.
• Served as regulatory counsel for the sale of Duane Reade to Walgreens.
• Represented a number of institutional pharmacies providing pharmacy services to long term care providers, in general counsel, corporate, including financing and contracting, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory matters.
• Represented a large retail pharmacy chain on numerous federal and state regulatory and reimbursement issues.
• Represented a private equity fund on health care due diligence and regulatory matters in the purchase of a publicly-held pharmacy chain in New York City.
• Represented a private company in connection with the acquisition of pharmacies in a pharmacy roll up.