Skip to main content

Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

The Future of Pharmaceuticals: Agency Focus on PBMs and Pharmaceutical Mergers

June 22, 2022

Hot off the heels of Alvaro M. Bedoya's confirmation as the fifth FTC Commissioner, the antitrust agencies have doubled down on enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector with three recent actions. First, the FTC voted 5-0 to initiate a Section 6(b) study of pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs). As part of the PBM study, the FTC issued six broad subpoenas to the top PBMs in the country: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Inc., OptumRx, Inc., Humana, Inc., Prime Therapeutics LLC, and MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc. The FTC says that the inquiry will examine the impact of vertically integrated PBMs on the access to and affordability of prescription drugs.

Download PDF