Late last year, CVS and Aetna announced a merger, combining one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies and a large pharmacy benefits management company (a “PBM”), that being CVS’ Caremark division. The trend continues, as on March 8, Cigna announced its intention to acquire Express Scripts, another PBM, in a deal reportedly valued at $67 billion. Both transactions, if … Continue Reading
Category Archives: Antitrust
Subscribe to Antitrust RSS FeedHouse Judiciary Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Proposed CVS/Aetna Merger
On February 27, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law held a hearing to consider the implications of the proposed CVS/Aetna merger. The transaction, valued at approximately $69 billion, was announced in December and is currently under regulatory review by the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division and antitrust and insurance regulators in a number … Continue Reading
Evolving Litigation of Data Breach Claims
An Illinois circuit court judge has dismissed five of six claims in a consolidated class action against Advocate Health and Hospital Corporation arising from a data breach in July 2013. The judge’s dismissal with prejudice leaves only a negligence claim, based on a duty to reasonably safeguard information, pending against Advocate. … Continue Reading
Supreme Court Rules Pharmaceutical “Pay For Delay” Agreements Are Subject to Anti-Trust Review
The Supreme Court struck a blow for consumers when it ruled the Federal Trade Commission may file suit to prevent pharmaceutical companies from agreeing to pay generic drug manufacturers to keep generic drugs off the market for a specified period of time. Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc. (June 17, 2013).
The Court ruled that “pay for delay arrangements” … Continue Reading
Supreme Court to Decide Pharmaceutical “Pay for Delay” Case
The United States Supreme Court is set to decide whether a patent holder can pay to keep a challenger out of the market, or whether doing so violates antitrust laws.
Drug manufacturers are granted patents on their products for 20 years, giving them an exclusive right to manufacture and market the patented drug. In order to bring a generic version … Continue Reading
Supreme Court Upholds FTC Disapproval of Hospital Merger
In a decision issued on February 19, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to prohibit a hospital merger which would substantially reduce competition. Federal Trade Commission v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. involved the acquisition by a public hospital in Georgia of the only other hospital in the county. The FTC alleged that the … Continue Reading
