Milenkovich joins Roetzel & Andress

Ned Milenkovich, Drug Topics’ legal compliance columnist, has joined the Business Services Practice Group of the law firm of Roetzel & Andress as partner in its Chicago office and head of the firm’s Drug and Pharmacy practice.

“We welcome Ned to our firm and are thrilled to add his knowledge and experience in medical device, drug and pharmacy law to our practice at Roetzel,” said Chicago Partner-in-Charge Mark D. Belongiain a prepared statement. “Ned’s background as both an attorney and as a Doctor of Pharmacy will be a tremendous asset in representing and counseling our clients in a very dynamic sector of the law and of the U.S. economy. 

Milenkovich’s legal practice focuses on medical device, drug, and pharmacy law, and encompasses federal and state regulatory compliance, licensing, transactions, and dispute resolution. His clients represent all segments of the drug supply chain, among them manufacturers, wholesale distributors, third-party logistics providers, and pharmacy retailers (including brick-and-mortar retail, long-term care, mail-order, and specialty pharmacies), as well as pharmacy technology companies, prescription management companies, and physician practices. 

His broad base of experience also includes representation of Medicare Part D matters, 340B issues, HIPAA compliance, prescription drug monitoring programs, drug diversion issues, drug pedigree and compounding issues.

Asked to name the foremost concerns challenging the industry today, Milenkovich told Drug Topics, "In my opinion, there are several present and forthcoming issues that pharmacy industry stakeholders will continue to face: controlled substance diversion issues, sterile compounding issues (particularly in the wake of the NECC tragedy), technology and the delivery of patient care through automated dispensing units, drug pedigree issues, and 340B issues."

He added, "Some of these issues, such as compounding and drug pedigree, may be federalized eventually, but in any event we can see them plaguing pharmacies every day. There are, of course, an endless number of other issues that remain challenges to the industry, such as fraud and abuse allegations, and reimbursement challenges (including payor audits and clawbacks), to name a few. Finally, notwithstanding the political jousting taking place in our nation's capitol over the Affordable Care Act, new opportunities for pharmacist involvement will continue to unfold in this arena as well."

Most recently Milenkovich was chair of the Drug and Pharmacy Practice at McDonald Hopkins, LLC. He is vice chairman of the Illinois State Board of Pharmacy and a frequent lecturer at legal and pharmaceutical industry events. He earned his JD cum laude from The John Marshall Law School, his PharmD with honors from the University of Illinois, and his BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University.