June 7 Quick Takes: Biotech bounce as FTC to scrutinize effect of PBMs on drug prices

Biotech indexes rallied Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission said it will scrutinize the effect of vertically integrated PBMs on prescription drug prices, naming six companies to which it will send compulsory orders. After trading below Monday’s close early in the day, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) rose more than 5%, while the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) was up nearly 3%, gaining momentum into the close. The FTC described CVS Caremark, the PBM of CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS); the Express Scripts Inc. unit of Cigna Corp. (NYSE:CI); the OptumRx division of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH); Humana Inc. (NASDAQ:HUM); Prime Therapeutics LLC; and MedImpact Healthcare Systems Inc. as “middlemen” that may have “highly complicated, opaque contractual relationships that are difficult or impossible to understand for patients and independent businesses.”

DBV Technologies S.A. (Euronext:DBV; NASDAQ:DBVT) said it was exploring regulatory pathways forward for Viaskin Peanut 250 µg to treat peanut-allergic toddlers aged 1-3 after Phase III trial results showed 67% of subjects treated with the epicutaneous patch met response criteria at 12 months, compared with 33.5% of subjects treated with placebo. DBV has faced several regulatory setbacks with Viaskin Peanut, including a complete response letter which it received from FDA in August 2020. The company rose $0.83 (54%) to $2.36 after-hours. ...