June 8, 2022
Life Sciences
  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will investigate the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and how they influence drug prices and the pharmacy business. The FTC unanimously voted Tuesday to require the six biggest PBMs — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, OptumRx, Humana, Prime Therapeutics, and MedImpact Healthcare Systems — to turn over information and records. The vote came after the FTC in February deadlocked on a motion to study the highly concentrated PBM sector. However, the recent confirmation of a fifth commissioner created a Democratic majority and changed the outlook for an investigation. (Press release here; Articles here and here)