In a petition docketed Wednesday, Pfizer denounced interpretations of the Anti-Kickback Statute by the Second Circuit, a New York federal judge and a watchdog agency, averring that they bestowed the fraud-fighting law with "nearly limitless" reach to "a wide swath of routine, beneficial conduct." It's true that the Anti-Kickback Statute hasn't generated many big cases at the Supreme Court, despite being on the books for five decades. Life Science and Healthcare partner Matt Wetzel, who has written about Pfizer's case, told Law360 that one explanation is that an affirmative challenge to AKS policies "casts a spotlight on practices and behaviors that may or may not ultimately be deemed to be inappropriate." "If you're going to challenge it affirmatively, you really need to have your ducks in a row, really solid legal arguments, and a willingness and fortitude to undertake that risk," Wetzel said in a Friday interview.