Cigna subsidiary Express Scripts has initiated legal action against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following a controversial interim report released by the FTC in July. The report alleges that middlemen, such as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), have contributed to the rise in prescription drug costs and have adversely affected independent pharmacies. Express Scripts asserts that the report is “unfair, biased, erroneous and defamatory” and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to nullify and remove the report from the public domain.
The Express Scripts complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Missouri, names Lina M. Khan, the chair of the FTC, as a defendant. Andrea Nelson, The Cigna Group’s Chief Legal Officer, stated, “The FTC has taken unconstitutional actions in publishing a report that ignores the evidence provided by our company and other PBMs, demonstrates clear ideological bias and advances a false and damaging narrative—narrative that could harm the health care system by removing essential checks and balances which would result in higher drug prices for American consumers.”
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