The Federal Trade Commission could help shed light on the complex practices of pharmacy liaisons that have long faced criticism for allegedly driving up consumer drug prices.
FTC Commissioner Noah J. Phillips has said the agency may still launch a probe into pharmacy benefit managers—which run patients’ prescription drug coverage—even though it deadlocked with a 2-2 vote on a proposed study last month. The FTC will have to sort out details of a new proposal, but policy analysts say any review would, at a minimum, provide a better understanding of how PBMs interact with the rest of the drug distribution chain.