The Litigation Department of DMK Abogados successfully represented a multinational pharmaceutical company whose operations were irregularly blocked in 2016 by the Ministry of Public Health, preventing it from continuing to sell its products under the High-Cost Medications and Medical Assistance Program.
DMK Abogados held the legal representation of the aforementioned company in all the legal actions that were initiated to restore the rights of sale and distribution of the company. The main action to achieve the lifting of the blockade consisted of a complaint filed against the Ministry of Public Health (MISPAS) by the General Directorate of Public Procurement, which attacked the unjust and unjustified decision to terminate the distribution without exhausting the corresponding legal procedures. As a result of this, MISPAS blocked for a period of four (4) years the commercial activity of the foreign company, whose operations exceeded 85 million dollars in sales per year.
At the same time, the Dominican company that irregularly substituted the foreign company in sales before the MISPAS, filed a lawsuit before the civil and commercial courts. In said lawsuit, in which other well-known multinational manufacturers of medical products were also sued, DMK Abogados also successfully represented the aforementioned pharmaceutical company, leading the defense strategy that served as the basis for all the defendants to obtain a victory in the case before the First Instance Court as well as the Court of Appeal of Santo Domingo.
The legal team was led by Nelson Jáquez, partner and director of the Litigation practice of DMK Abogados, and Samir Mateo, senior attorney.
This case marked an important milestone in transparency in the public procurement sector and is of great importance to the health sector. After the decision, in this case, the process will be reopened so that the multinational company can participate in bids with an offer of its products.
The drugs listed in the case have the best cost per treatment on the market and are of great importance to the health of Dominicans who received these benefits from MISPAS for several years, as part of the High-Cost Medications and Medical Aid Program.
DMK Abogados is a leading law firm in the Dominican Republic, with more than 28 years providing specialized comprehensive legal advice to its clients in areas such as Foreign Investment, Tourism, and Real Estate, Environment, Mining, Energy, Corporate and Corporate, Intellectual Property, Labor, Real Estate, Litigation, Arbitration, Civil Aviation, Telecommunications, among others.