At The Deal LLC's Healthcare Dealmaking Symposium, a Tuesday morning panel discussed the scope of the changes on the horizon for healthcare as the Obama administration tackles major reform for the industry.
Susan Berson, a senior member in Mintz Levin's health law practice, said that "there's a great deal of pent up demand for healthcare reform as a result of eight years of a Republican administration that had a very market-focused outlook. The system won't change overnight, but I think there is a lot of legislation that could come to pass relatively quickly.
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"I think that pharmaceuticals are going to come under a lot more scrutiny," she continued. "It's one of the reasons we're seeing these big pharmaceuticals deals, because they're looking at less patent protection."
David Balto, a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress, agreed, commenting that "people should be scared."
He continued: "The previous administration was incredibly lax on antitrust enforcement. The current administration is going to make up costs by cracking down on companies. Those that led the easy life by entering into anticompetitive deals to protect patents have reason to be nervous." - George White
See earlier comments from Mintz Levin's Berson
