Dispute over FTC report: Express Scripts sues US regulatory agency

Express Scripts, a subsidiary of the Cigna Group, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The background is a report by the FTC from July 2024, which Express Scripts describes as "false and defamatory." According to the lawsuit, the report contains misleading statements about Express Scripts and the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) industry. As part of the lawsuit, the U.S.-based PBM is demanding the retraction of the FTC report. The complaint argues that the report contains "seventy-four pages of unfounded allegations" against Express Scripts and other PBMs, accompanied by a "false and defamatory" press release. PBMs manage prescription plans for employers and government programs. The industry has been criticized for high medication costs in the U.S. and has also been scrutinized in several Senate hearings. Three major players—Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx—dominate nearly 80% of the U.S. market, according to the FTC. The FTC's interim report from July states that the "vertically integrated and consolidated market structure" allows PBMs to profit at the expense of patients and independent pharmacies. The FTC also noted that PBMs have substantial influence over independent pharmacies and are subjected to unfair, arbitrary, and harmful contract conditions. Express Scripts claims the FTC report ignored "millions of documents and terabytes of data" provided by Express Scripts and other PBMs. Daniel further alleged that the report heavily relied on public comments, many of which were anonymous and unverifiable, but were nevertheless treated as facts by the commission. The company also argues that the "false findings" of the report are partly due to the bias of FTC Commissioner Lina Khan and the commission against PBMs. The suit demands that Khan "recuse herself from further proceedings against the PBMs.