Reed Smith LLP

The Trump Administration seeks comments on its latest plan to reduce prices for prescription drugs.  The plan would tie payment rates for drugs covered under Medicare Part B to amounts paid for such drugs in other developed countries, and would replace the current “buy and bill” system with a new drug distribution and billing model.

In a decision of 20 September 2018, the French Competition Authority fined a waste treatment company for increasing abruptly, significantly and in an unjustified manner the waste disposal prices it charged hospitals and clinics in Corsica.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an extremely interesting jurisdiction from a legal perspective. Those contemplating entering into contracts that have a connection to the UAE, or indeed to the wider Gulf and Middle East region, may be interested to learn that there are three separate legal systems that operate within the UAE, which find their basis in both civil law and common law. When it comes to the resolution of disputes, this offers parties with a choice in how they would like their disputes resolved but also raises certain intricacies of which they should be aware in exercising that choice. This update deals with five such aspects.