We represented a healthcare services company in a FTC wide-ranging Section 6(b) inquiry into the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) industry. The investigation compelled several leading industry participants to produce internal data and documents concerning rebate practices, formulary design, pharmacy reimbursements, and vertical integration. We led the client’s strategic and technical response, coordinating extensive data collection and review, working with co-counsel and industry experts to analyze contract terms and reimbursement systems, and providing evidence that rebutted agency concerns around self-preferencing, opaque pricing, and contractual leverage over independent pharmacies. When the agency published an interim report critical of industry practices, our submission positioned the client’s operations as consistent with fair competition, transparent contracting, and efficient pricing models.
Through our advocacy, the agency regarded the client’s responses as among the more fully documented and defensible in the proceeding, helping to prevent further enforcement escalation.