Vertical Mergers Of Rx Supply Chain Spark Antitrust Concerns

By John McManus, The McManus Group

The recent announcement of two vertical mergers ­— the $52 billion acquisition of Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the country, by Cigna, and the $69 billion purchase of Aetna by CVS Health — raise significant antitrust concerns over how these megacompanies will impact patient access and pharmaceutical pricing.

The Justice Department is now reviewing the Aetna-CVS deal and is expected to do the same for the proposed Express Scripts and Cigna merger.