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 The allegations, made in a filing in federal court in Manhattan on
Tuesday, are in response to a lawsuit Anthem brought against Express
Scripts last month seeking $13 billion in price cuts over the
remaining four years of the companies' contract.
Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate pharmaceutical benefits for
employers and health plans and also run large mail-order pharmacies.
Express Scripts said in Tuesday's filing that the contract did not
require it to offer any specific price cuts, but only to negotiate
in good faith.
Anthem spokeswoman Leslie Porras said that Anthem believes Express
Scripts' positions are baseless. "Anthem stands behind the merits of
our lawsuit," Porras said in a statement.
Express Scripts pointed to statements made to investors last
September by Anthem's chief executive, Joseph Swedish, that he
expected only $2 billion to $2.8 billion in price cuts.
Express Scripts said it had proposed five price cuts "within the
range" of Swedish's projections last June, but that all were
rejected, suggesting that Anthem was acting in bad faith when it
brought its $13 billion lawsuit.
The company also said Anthem acted in bad faith by accepting a
$4.675 billion up-front payment from Express Scripts at the
beginning of the contract, which it said was supposed to let Express
Scripts charge higher prices.
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Express Scripts said that if Anthem does win price cuts in its
lawsuit, it should be ordered to repay that money.
The case is Anthem Inc v. Express Scripts Inc, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 1:16-cv-02048.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by
Caroline Humer; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alan Crosby)
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