In response to a wave of Supreme Court decisions affirming the enforceability of class action waivers in arbitration agreements, plaintiffs’ firms began using the arbitration agreement’s language (and/or the arbitration provider’s rules) requiring that the entity pay virtually all the fees and costs associated with arbitration against the entities that drafted them through a process now referred to as “mass arbitration.”

With increased demand for cosmetic procedures and wellness treatments, the med spa industry is booming and investor appetite in the space is increasing. Still, the industry presents some unique legal challenges that can impact transaction structuring.

Read on for six key points investors should know about the med spa landscape, particularly when structuring transactions and…

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has announced that it is expanding the topics it considers for new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) submitted by healthcare stakeholders. OIG will now answer general questions about the Federal anti-kickback statute (AKS), questions related to the civil monetary penalty (CMP) provision prohibiting remuneration to Medicare and State health care program beneficiaries, and questions relating to OIG’s enforcement authority under these statutes. OIG has stated it will respond to inquiries in the FAQ asking for general applications of AKS to a given type of arrangement. OIG also said it would answer questions regarding compliance and its healthcare fraud self-disclosure protocol.

A Texas federal court recently denied a pharmaceutical supplier’s motion to dismiss claims brought by a whistleblower under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and manipulation of Average Wholesale Pricing (AWP) rules. The complaint was filed by a pharmacist (the Relator) who previously worked for the defendant, Professional Compounding Centers of America Inc. (PCCA), a pharmaceutical supplier which sells active ingredients to compounding pharmacies. The Relator alleged that PCCA reported inflated AWPs for the ingredients it sold to its compounding pharmacy customers as part of a scheme that violated the FCA and AKS. The Government filed its complaint in partial intervention in November 2021, asserting FCA claims against PCCA for causing the submission of false claims to TRICARE and for reporting false AWPs to the pricing compendia upon which TRICARE reimbursement is based.

In recent months, retailers have faced increased pressure from litigation related to their sales practices. While there is overlap, sales practices litigation can fall into four different buckets: pricing, data collection, auto-renewal, and “free” lawsuits. This post focuses on trends in recently filed pricing litigation.

Audax Private Equity has announced it has completed a growth investment in Pyramid Laboratories.

Pyramid, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., is a drug product contract development and manufacturing organization. Founded in 1988, the company provides formulation development, analytical and stability testing, and aseptic fill-finish manufacturing services focused on large molecule therapeutics.

Audax, with…