The Federal Trade Commission was
asked to re-evaluate a 2007 deal where CVS bought Caremark Rx Inc. for $26 billion to create CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS). The National Community Pharmacists Association, with about 23,000 member pharmacies, says:
"Community pharmacists have received many complaints from patients and pharmacists about CVS Caremark's higher prices and questionable marketing practices. Despite CVS/Caremark's pre-merger promise to be 'agnostic as to where the consumer fills their prescription,' the company's mail-order and in-store sales and marketing teams tap into personal patient information and then aggressively use that information to steer them to CVS stores or Caremark mail order. That's anti-competitive and, ultimately, anti-consumer."Reuters got wind that NCPA president Holly Whitcomb Henry said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz told the group that
the issues were "of concern" and that FTC staff would look into them.
The NCPA noted that CVS said the association mischaracterizes its business and that the Caremark deal has made pharmacy healthcare more affordable and accessible.
We previously reported that CVS
passed Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG), formerly the No. 1 drugstore chain in terms of store count, this January when it closed on its acquisition of Longs Drug Stores, which has 526 stores.
That made the count nearly 7,000 stores for CVS, as opposed to about 6,600 for Walgreen.
For the
full story, with comments from Robert W. Doyle Jr., a partner at Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC and a former FTC lawyer,
subscribers can go to the Deal Pipeline.-
Baz HiralalAlso see: Wal-Mart ups ante in pharmacy fight
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