PBM Space Gets Cozier With Anthem's New In-House Service, Amazon's Rumored Entrance

Anthem Inc ANTM announced Wednesday its plans to launch an internal pharmacy-benefit manager at the 2019 expiration of its Express Scripts Holding Company ESRX contract.

The new unit, IngenioRx, will debut in 2020 through CVS Health Corp CVS and is expected to yield more than $4 billion in annual savings, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Anthem shares spiked 6 percent on the news, and CVS, which locked a five-year contract of undisclosed value, traded up 1 percent off the open. While Express Scripts plunged pre-market, shares eventually recovered.

Express Scripts investors have long been digesting the loss of the firm’s largest client and $17.1 billion in related annual revenue. Management warned in April that the 10-year deal was unlikely to be renewed, as the parties slapped each other with lawsuits regarding overcharges on prescription drugs.

Notably, Anthem had previously operated an in-house PBM but sold the $4.68 billion unit to Express Scripts in 2009.

The partner shakeup rattles an already dynamic PBM landscape. Express Scripts recently announced its acquisition of the privately owned eviCore, and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is rumored to be buying its own PBM or partnering with UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.

Related Link:

Could Pharmacy Benefit Managers Be Trump's Next Target?

Image Credit: Ildar Sagdejev (Specious) - Own work, GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

Posted In: NewsWall Street JournalHealth CareMediaGeneraleviCoreIngenioRxPBMPBMspharmacy benefit managers
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