Express Scripts to pull Pfizer drugs – report

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pharmacy benefits manager Express
Scripts Inc. is pulling Pfizer Inc.’s most popular drugs from
its preferred formulary in 2006, giving preference to cheaper
generics and rivals, according to a report on Wednesday by
Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan.

Included on the hit list cited by Ryan are cholesterol
fighter Lipitor, the world’s best-selling prescription drug;
the blood pressure medicine Norvasc; Viagra, the top-selling
erectile dysfunction treatment, and incontinence medicine
Detrol/LA.

“The conspicuous exclusion of nearly all of Pfizer’s major
products from the Express Scripts National formulary indicates
to us that this PBM has adopted a very aggressive stance,
requiring pricing concessions that perhaps Pfizer was unwilling
to accept,” Ryan wrote.

Co-pays that patients must pay for non-preferred drugs are
significantly higher — sometimes twice as much — than for
those on the preferred formulary list.

Pfizer declined to immediately comment on the report.

Express Scripts would not immediately confirm the report,
but it did say Merck & Co. cholesterol medicine Zocor would be
on its recommended list for next year in anticipation of the
mid-year availability of generic Zocor as that drug’s patent
protection runs out.

“The availability of a generic version of Zocor in June
2006 provides an historic cost-saving opportunity for clients
and patients,” Express Scripts spokesman Steve Littlejohn said.

PBMs administer prescription drug benefits for employers
and major health plans, brokering discount deals by buying the
drugs in bulk from manufacturers and pharmacies.

Should the other major U.S. PBMs — Medco Health Solutions
Inc. and Caremark Rx Inc. — follow Express’s lead, it could be
a serious blow to Pfizer.

Deutsche Bank’s Ryan said Medco has no plans to remove
Lipitor from its formulary “at this point,” but aggressive
promotion of generic Zocor is widely expected.

Express Scripts is the smallest of the three major PBMs and
Ryan said the impact of the move is unclear. She maintained her
“buy” rating on Pfizer’s stock.

Pfizer shares were off 30 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $24.94
on the New York Stock Exchange.