N. Legal Obligations. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as relieving any Settling Distributor of the obligation to comply with all state and federal laws, regulations or rules, nor shall any of the provisions herein be deemed to be permission to engage in any acts or practices prohibited by such laws, regulations, or rules. Except with respect to the Injunctive Relief Terms, in the event of a conflict between this Agreement and any requirement or requirements of federal, state, or local laws, such that a Settling Distributor cannot comply with this Agreement without violating such a requirement or requirements, the Settling Distributor shall document such conflicts and notify the Attorney(s) General of the relevant Settling State(s) that it intends to comply with the requirement or requirements to the extent necessary to eliminate the conflict. With respect to the Injunctive Relief Terms, in the event of such a conflict, the procedures set forth in Section III.X of the Injunctive Relief Terms will be followed.
“Controlled Substances.” Those substances designated under schedules II-V pursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act and the laws and regulations of the Settling States that incorporate federal schedules II-V. For purposes of the requirements of the Injunctive Relief Terms, Gabapentin shall be treated as a Controlled Substance, except for purposes of Section XII for Customers located in States that do not regulate it as a controlled substance or similar designation (e.g., drug of concern).
The requirements contained in Sections VIII through XV shall apply to the distribution of Controlled Substances to Customers by each Injunctive Relief Distributor’s Full-Line Wholesale Pharmaceutical Distribution Business, including by any entities acquired by the Injunctive Relief Distributors that are engaged in the Full-Line Wholesale Pharmaceutical Distribution Business. The prior sentence is not limited to activity physically performed at each Injunctive Relief Distributor’s distribution centers and includes activity covered by the prior sentence performed by each Injunctive Relief Distributor at any physical location, including at its corporate offices or at the site of a Customer with respect to Sections III through XV.
The Injunctive Relief Distributors’ sales personnel shall not be authorized to make decisions regarding the implementation of CSMP policies and procedures, the design of the CSMP, the setting or adjustment of Thresholds, or other actions taken pursuant to the CSMP, except sales personnel must provide information regarding compliance issues to CSMP personnel promptly. The Injunctive Relief Distributors’ sales personnel are prohibited from interfering with, obstructing, or otherwise exerting control over any CSMP department decision-making.
To the extent not already established, each Injunctive Relief Distributor shall establish a committee that includes senior executives with responsibility for legal, compliance, distribution and finance to provide oversight over its CSMP (the “CSMP Committee”). The Chief Diversion Control Officer shall be a member of the CSMP Committee. The CSMP Committee shall not include any employee(s) or person(s) performing any sales functions on behalf of the Injunctive Relief Distributor; provided that service on the CSMP Committee by any senior executives listed in this paragraph whose responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, management of sales functions shall not constitute a breach of the Injunctive Relief Terms.
Each Injunctive Relief Distributor’s CSMP Committee shall have regular meetings during which the Chief Diversion Control Officer shall present to the CSMP Committee with respect to, and the CSMP Committee shall evaluate, among other things: (1) any material modifications and potential enhancements to the CSMP including, but not limited to, those relating to Customer due diligence and Suspicious Order monitoring and reporting; (2) any significant new national and regional diversion trends involving Controlled Substances; (3) the Injunctive Relief Distributor’s adherence to the CSMP policies and procedures, the Injunctive Relief Terms, and applicable laws and regulations governing the distribution of Controlled Substances; and (4) any technology, staffing, or other resource needs for the CSMP. The CSMP Committee shall have access to all CSMP reports. The CSMP Committee will review and approve the specific metrics used to identify the Red Flags set forth in Section VIII.
Each Injunctive Relief Distributor shall establish or maintain the position of Chief Diversion Control Officer, or other appropriately titled position, to oversee the Injunctive Relief Distributor’s CSMP. The Chief Diversion Control Officer shall have appropriate experience regarding compliance with the laws and regulations concerning Controlled Substances, in particular laws and regulations requiring effective controls against the potential diversion of Controlled Substances. The Chief Diversion Control Officer shall report directly to either the senior executive responsible for U.S. pharmaceutical distribution or the most senior legal officer at the Injunctive Relief Distributor.
A. Enforceability. This Agreement is enforceable only by the Settling States and the Settling Distributors; provided, however, that Released Entities may enforce Section XI and Participating Subdivisions listed on Exhibit G have the enforcement rights described in Section VI.D. Except to the extent allowed by the Injunctive Relief Terms, Settling States and Participating Subdivisions shall not have enforcement rights with respect to either the terms of this Agreement that apply only to or in other States or any Consent Judgment entered into by another Settling State. Participating Subdivisions shall not have enforcement rights against the Settling Distributors with respect to this Agreement or any Consent Judgment except that Participating Subdivisions listed on Exhibit G shall have enforcement rights as set forth herein as to payments that would be allocated to the Subdivision Fund or Abatement Accounts Fund pursuant to Section V; provided, however, that each Settling State shall allow Participating Subdivisions in such Settling State to notify it of any perceived violations of this Agreement or the applicable Consent Judgment.
3. A Settling Distributor shall not, in one (1) transaction or a series of related transactions, sell or transfer (other than sales or transfers to an entity owned directly or indirectly by such Settling Distributor) more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the distribution centers within its Full-Line Wholesale Pharmaceutical Distribution Business (as that term is defined in the Injunctive Relief Terms) where the sale or transfer is announced after the Reference Date, unless the Settling Distributor obtains the acquiror’s agreement that it will be bound by the Injunctive Relief Terms.
3. Unless each of the Settling Distributors and the Enforcement Committee agrees otherwise, this Agreement, with the exception of the Injunctive Relief Terms that have their own provisions on duration, shall terminate as to all Parties as of the Payment Date for Payment Year 18, provided that all Settling Distributors that as of that date are not Bankrupt Settling Distributors have performed their Payment obligations under the Agreement as of that date. If fewer than all Settling Distributors that as of that date are not Bankrupt Settling Distributors have performed their Payment obligations under the Agreement as of that date, then the Agreement shall terminate as of that date as to any Settling Distributor that has performed its Payment obligations under the Agreement and the Agreement (a) shall terminate as to each of the remaining Settling Distributors that as of that date is not a Bankrupt Settling Distributor at such time as each performs its Payment obligations under the Agreement and (b) shall terminate as to all Parties at such time as all Settling Distributors that are not Bankrupt Settling Distributors have performed their Payment obligations under the Agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section XIV.V.3 or in this Agreement, all releases under this Agreement will remain effective despite any termination under this Section XIV.V.3.
For each Injunctive Relief Distributor, sales personnel compensated with commissions shall not be compensated based on revenue or profitability targets or expectations for sales of Controlled Substances. However, each Injunctive Relief Distributor’s personnel may, as applicable, be compensated (including incentive compensation) based on formulas that include total sales for all of the Injunctive Relief Distributor’s products, including Controlled Substances. The compensation of sales personnel shall not include incentive compensation tied solely to sales of Controlled Substances.
“Order.” A unique Customer request on a specific date for (i) a certain amount of a specific dosage form or strength of a Controlled Substance or (ii) multiple dosage forms and/or strengths of a Controlled Substance. For the purposes of this definition, each line item on a purchasing document or DEA Form 222 is a separate order, except that a group of line items either in the same drug family or DEA base code (based upon the structure of a Injunctive Relief Distributor’s CSMP) may be considered to be a single order.
Injunctive Relief Distributors shall only collect, use, disclose or retain Pharmacy Customer Data consistent with applicable federal and state privacy and consumer protections laws. Injunctive Relief Distributors shall not be required to collect, use, disclose or retain any data element that is prohibited by law or any element that would require notice to or consent from the party who is the subject of the data element, including, but not limited to, a third party (such as a prescriber) to permit collection, use, disclosure and/or retention of the data.
An Injunctive Relief Distributor’s CSMP functions, including, but not limited to, the onboarding and approval of new Customers for the sale of Controlled Substances, setting and adjusting Customer Thresholds for Controlled Substances, terminating or suspending Customers, and submitting Suspicious Orders and other reports to Settling States (or the Clearinghouse, when operational), but excluding support necessary to perform these functions, shall be conducted exclusively by the Injunctive Relief Distributor’s CSMP personnel or qualified third-party consultants.
Each Injunctive Relief Distributor shall maintain a telephone, email, and/or web-based “hotline” to permit employees and/or Customers to anonymously report suspected diversion of Controlled Substances or violations of the CSMP, Injunctive Relief Distributor company policy related to the distribution of Controlled Substances, or applicable law. Each Injunctive Relief Distributor shall share the hotline contact information with their employees and Customers. Each Injunctive Relief Distributor shall maintain all complaints made to the hotline, and document the determinations and bases for those determinations made in response to all complaints.