NACDS, NCPA renew merger opposition with new court filing seeking immediate relief

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association on Monday afternoon announced their intent to file an additional motion requesting that the judge direct Express Scripts and Medco to keep separate their assets pending review of the lawsuit and/or schedule an expedited review of the merits of a case the two associations filed in district court last week.

“We continue to believe that the compelling arguments and evidence brought to the [Federal Trade Commission] by NACDS, NCPA, consumer groups and others warrant blocking this merger," both NACDS and NCPA released in a joint statement. "That the agency is allowing the merger to proceed, and without any conditions, leaves patients and pharmacies vulnerable to significant harm from a combined ESI-Medco. Furthermore, we are disappointed that the agency based some of its views of the PBM-pharmacy marketplace on old, inaccurate data, despite NACDS and NCPA providing evidence to the contrary."

NACDS and NCPA, along with nine community pharmacy complainants, last week filed a suit challenging the then-proposed Express Scripts/Medco merger in anticipation of an imminent approval. Both Express Scripts and Medco were served summonses regarding that suit earlier Monday morning, according to court documents.