A group of independent pharmacies brought an antitrust action against a major pharmacy benefit manager (“PBM”), alleging that its agreement with a competing PBM unlawfully restrained competition. The pharmacies claimed the arrangement fixed reimbursement rates at below-competitive levels, reduced price competition, and allowed the PBMs to exercise monopsony power in the market for long-term care pharmacy services.
Vega Economics supported two expert academics in the matter, an antitrust expert and a pharmacy expert.
The antitrust expert was retained to evaluate the collaboration between the PBMs and its impact on the market for pharmacy services. His analyses assessed the competitive effects and quantified the damages.
The pharmacy expert was retained as a rebuttal expert to analyze the opposing expert’s view that long term care (LTC) pharmacies hold enhanced bargaining power. He countered that counter the opposing experts assertions, LTC pharmacies provide higher standards of care and additional services, making the portrayal of pharmacy dispensing as a homogenous, automated process overly simplistic