Omnicare’s bid to take over rival PharMerica has hit another snag: The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit. The legal action asserts the merged companies would control 57% of the pharmacy services market in long-term care. The suit adds that competition would suffer and Medicare-covered drug prices would likely rise. PharMerica said it supports the FTC’s lawsuit. Omnicare currently owns more than 200 long-term care pharmacies in 44 states; PharMerica owns 97 pharmacies in 43 states. Omnicare first made a public offer to buy PharMerica in September, which the latter quickly rebuffed.
