Karen Gibbs

Industry savvy healthcare and life sciences counsel on practical risks and innovative business approaches

Karen Gibbs has extensive experience in regulatory, compliance and policy issues in the healthcare and life sciences industries, including pharmacies (retail, mail, compounding, specialty and veterinary), wholesale distributors, pharmaceutical and biological manufacturers, pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies, device manufacturers, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, hospitals, behavioral health providers and senior living providers. She regularly advises investors and lenders focused on the healthcare and life sciences industries, including private equity, growth equity, venture firms and lenders. Matters on which she advises clients include:

• Healthcare transactions, representing buyers, sellers and investors in all aspects of the sale or purchase of healthcare and life sciences entities, including acquisitions, sales, growth investments and buyouts.
• Regulatory compliance, including federal and state regulations, with a particular focus on laws relevant to pharmacies, pharmaceuticals and other life sciences companies.
• Internal and government investigations.
• Guidance on novel ways to navigate the regulatory climate.

Before joining Quarles, Karen was a partner at another major law firm. She also previously served as vice president and senior counsel at CVS Health, an integrated Fortune 20 pharmacy company. There, she led a team of lawyers who managed a wide array of regulatory matters and investigations.

Karen’s in-house experience gives her firsthand insight into the legal, regulatory and operational challenges her clients face. As a former industry insider, she is particularly adept at guiding clients through business decisions in a complex regulatory environment. Karen’s deep industry knowledge and forward-looking views on regulatory policy enable her to maximize value for clients. She is known for being a highly responsive, collaborative partner who is laser focused on helping clients manage risk and find solutions in a fast-paced and constantly evolving world.

• Represents buyers and sellers of healthcare and life sciences companies in transactions ranging from growth investments to buyouts, helping clients identify, quantify and manage regulatory risk.
• Brings decades of experience to developing strategies for navigating the challenges that healthcare and life sciences companies face, drawing on both private practice and in-house experience.
• Guides pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare and life sciences clients through complex federal and state regulatory requirements and investigations.

• Represented buyers and sellers in acquisitions of specialty infusion companies.
• Represented buyers and sellers in acquisitions and sales of pharmaceutical logistics and third-party logistics (3PL) companies.
• Represented buyers and sellers in acquisitions and sales of behavioral health and addiction treatment providers.
• Represented buyers in acquisitions of telemedicine companies.
• Represented buyers in acquisitions of innovative, high-touch primary care models.
• Represented buyers in acquisitions of 340B pharmacy services companies.
• Represented "de novo" companies and existing industry clients in developing strategies to navigate regulatory climate and maximize business effectiveness.
• Represented clients in successful exits from federal and state investigations.