Health Care Antitrust under President Biden

Start time: March 9, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. CT

Duration: 60 minutes

After a turbulent year that roiled the economy, and the health care sector more than most, the Democrats emerged with control of both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2014. Business leaders and in-house counsel are now turning their eyes to Washington and wondering what changes the next four years will bring. Join us on March 9, 2021, as some of our most experienced lawyers discuss what the change in administration may augur for antitrust enforcement and for health care in particular. Topics to be discussed include:

• What do we know about Biden’s high-level antitrust and health care appointees? What policy shifts are likely?
• Will there be a return to closer policy alignment between the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ Antitrust Division?
• Will the Biden administration attempt to reverse some Trump-era mergers in the hospital sector?
• And what about the trend toward greater concentration in pharma—will this be allowed to continue?
• Will there be a retreat from the DOJ’s strong defense of patent-holder rights and apparent indifference to alleged “patent thickets” in branded drugs and biosimilars?
• Can we expect the government to press brand name drug manufacturers to allow generics greater access to samples for R&D purposes under the CREATES Act?
• Will there be a new emphasis on single-firm enforcement in health care under an “abuse of dominance” approach?
• Whither Hatch-Waxman patent settlements in view of the California “Reverse Payments” Law? Is there room for a federal role here?
• Can anything be done to help mitigate the increasing cost of third-party discovery, especially in antitrust and IP cases?
• What are the possible implications of the recent repeal of McCarran-Ferguson antitrust immunity for health insurers?

Questions? Please contact Christine Berndt at CBerndt@RobinsKaplan.com or 612.349.8404.