Pharmacy

Pharmacy is a highly litigated corner of healthcare, with major fights running on four separate tracks: state laws banning PBMs from owning pharmacies, drugmakers challenging state 340B protections, PBMs facing antitrust claims over reimbursement practices and fraud enforcement actions tied…

In 2026, insurers have been taking steps to hone their specialty pharmacy approaches. Some health insurers are expanding their offerings and venturing into healthcare services. Others are seeking strategies to tackle cost pressures, as prescription drug spend has been a…

Nearly 5,000 independent pharmacies have filed a federal lawsuit against Prime Therapeutics, alleging the pharmacy benefit manager conspired with Express Scripts to suppress pharmacy reimbursement rates and increase fees in violation of federal antitrust law. The complaint was filed July…

Health systems are pouring capital into specialty pharmacy, community pharmacy and infusion capacity, betting that owning the pharmacy touchpoint is now a strategic necessity, not a side business. Here are four notes on where that investment is headed: 1. Specialty…

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Colorado’s first-in-the-nation prescription drug price cap, preventing a cap on Amgen’s Enbrel from taking effect while the company’s lawsuit against the state proceeds. U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico ruled Amgen is substantially likely to…

The FDA has been busy over the past month, from expanding a gene therapy to younger patients to weighing whether “wellness” peptides belong on pharmacy compounding lists.  Here are four things to know:  1. The FDA reshuffled its peptide advisory…

Active drug shortages in the U.S. climbed to 223 in the first quarter of 2026, the second consecutive quarterly increase. Buried in that count are dozens of manufacturer-specific dates — extended-use deadlines, promised “next delivery” windows, backorder recovery targets —…

A federal appeals court has upheld Missouri’s law protecting 340B contract pharmacies, rejecting Novartis’ bid to block enforcement of the statute while its lawsuit proceeds. In a July 1 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit affirmed…

Active drug shortages in the U.S. rose for the second consecutive quarter in 2026, reaching 223 in the first quarter, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists — and the FDA’s database continues to reflect new discontinuations weekly. The…

The FDA has expanded the approval of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ gene therapy Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) to patients 2 years and older with sickle cell disease with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises or transfusion-dependent β thalassemia. The decision makes Casgevy the first gene therapy…