Federal Trade Commission faces pharma antitrust battle

The Federal Trade Commission plans to hold antitrust hearings later this year, and health care groups haven't been shy about telling regulators this month what they want done with the pharmaceutical industry.

Between the lines: The Hatfields and the McCoys still have guns pointed toward each other.

What they're saying:

• Consumer groups teamed up with America's Health Insurance Plans to urge the FTC to "stop sham and anticompetitive transactions that unnecessarily delay generic drug and biosimilar competition."
• Former Rep. Henry Waxman told the FTC it should conduct a deep analysis of pharmacy benefit manager consolidation and how PBM contracts affect drug prices.
• PhRMA, building on its long campaign against PBMs, similarly wants pharmacy benefit rebates to be scrutinized.