The Federal Trade Commission this month announced that it was expanding its probe into drug middlemen — companies accused of increasing the cost of prescription drugs through secretive, one-sided arrangements with drugmakers and pharmacies. Specifically, it added a third company created by one of the biggest middlemen to its investigation.
The commission, which polices anti-competitive practices in the marketplace, on June 8 issued a compulsory order for Emisar Pharma Solutions to hand over “information and records on its business practices.” The order is part of a sweeping “6(b)” investigation into drug middlemen known as “pharmacy benefit managers” that began a year ago.
Part of some of the largest corporations in the United States, each of the PBMs is affiliated with a major insurer: CVS Caremark with Aetna, Express Scripts with Cigna, and OptumRx with UnitedHealth.
