Medicine and Health

Overview

For over two decades, Friedman Kaplan has represented pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, hospitals, and other healthcare providers and their executives in connection with a wide variety of litigation and white collar matters, including contract, fee, and insurance disputes, allegations of fraud, patent litigation, allegations of off-label and misleading marketing, violations of the FCPA and False Claims Act, and other matters. These matters involve federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities and are often accompanied by parallel civil or regulatory proceedings.

Our attorneys understand and are accustomed to navigating the special sensitivity that often accompanies matters in the healthcare space. From conducting highly confidential internal investigations, to representing companies and executives in connection with public or confidential investigations into alleged fraud or misconduct, to representing our clients in the sorts of contract and employment disputes faced by companies in all industries, our attorneys work hard to protect our clients’ reputations while vigorously pursuing the most advantageous resolution.

Selected Experience

• Representation, as pool counsel, of all former employees and executives of a pharmaceutical company in connection with a major investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey into alleged off-label marketing of the company’s principal drug.
• Representation of a clinical laboratory services company in connection with an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey regarding alleged fraudulent overbilling for unnecessary testing. As part of the representation, we conducted a targeted internal investigation to determine the validity of the allegations made by a former employee, concluded that they did not have merit, and responded accordingly to the investigation.
• We represented Abbott Laboratories in an investigation by the New York Attorney General pertaining to an allegedly misleading nationwide advertising campaign.
• Representation of BioReference Laboratories as plaintiff in litigation in New Jersey state court against Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey in connection with medical insurance coverage.
• We represented Pfizer as local counsel in the Southern District of New York in defense against claims of patent infringement.
• We provided counsel to Amgen, Inc. concerning medical insurers' denial of coverage for Amgen's cardiovascular drug, Repatha.
• Representation of a senior executive of a major pharmaceutical company in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding alleged anti-kickback and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations.
• Representation of an assisted living facility in New Jersey in conducting an internal investigation concerning allegations of fraudulent billing for services not rendered to patients. These allegations were made by a departing senior executive of the company.
• Representation of the former CEO of a regional hospital in New Jersey in connection with an investigation of the hospital for alleged fraudulent insurance billing practices. Though the hospital our client worked for and the entity itself was under investigation, our client was not and will not be charged.
• Representation of a hospitalist medical practice group in connection with an investigation by the Board of Medical Examiners related to telemedicine services.
• Representation of a physician in connection with a large healthcare fraud investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, relating to improper payments made to our client and others by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services.
• Representation of a clinical laboratory services company in connection with an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York regarding alleged improper billing for testing of individuals admitted into hospitals.
• Representation of a former executive of a pharmaceutical company in a civil action asserting claims of civil RICO and breaches of fiduciary duty.
• Representation of the former chief compliance officer of a health care provider in connection with parallel criminal and civil investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and state authorities into alleged fraudulent billing.
• Representation, as local counsel, of Novo Nordisk in defense of litigation by competitor Sanofi Pharmaceuticals alleging that our client engaged in a false and misleading advertising and promotional campaign, and other unfair competitive practices, in order to persuade consumers, healthcare professionals, and pharmacists to switch from plaintiff’s drug product to our client’s drug product. 
• Representation of a New York-based clinical laboratory regarding a Department of Labor investigation and potential tax issues.
• We represented a pharmaceutical company in defense of litigation brought by a major financial services firm seeking payment of a multimillion-dollar investment banking fee related to a transaction between our client and an India-based pharmaceutical company.
• We advised a pharmaceutical company in connection with a dispute related to a license agreement for the manufacture and sale of certain pharmaceutical products, and a purchase agreement with a buyer of the North American royalty rights regarding those products.