Pfizer, Sanofi’s Pharmaceutical Rebate Suits Get on FTC’s Radar

A string of pharmaceutical manufacturers’ lawsuits challenging payers’ and benefit managers’ “preferred” drug lists have caught federal antitrust regulators’ attention.

Pfizer Inc., Sanofi S.A., other care providers have sued competitors for allegedly giving rebates to insurers and pharmaceutical benefit managers in return for their products getting on preferred formulary lists.

In a report released in May, the Federal Trade Commission told Congress that the lawsuits—alleging that such exclusive rebates stifle competition—could establish legal theories that the agency would monitor.

Those lawsuits, and the FTC’s review of them, could set the ball rolling on how pharmaceutical rebates are regulated, and possibly ...