Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC promotes prescription portability in pet medications market, (Apr 29, 2016)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Greater prescription portability would likely enhance competition in the pet medications market, according to testimony offered today by Tara Isa Koslov, FTC Deputy Director of the Office of Policy Planning, to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

In the FTC’s prepared statement, entitled “The Pet Medications Industry: Issues and Perspectives,” Koslov recommended that policymakers consider a number of factors in evaluating the competitive impact of possible limitations on prescription portability imposed by veterinarians on consumers, as well as proposals for reform that would promote greater prescription portability.

FTC staff issued a report in 2015, finding that consumer options for purchasing pet medications are expanding; that prescription portability for pet medications gives consumers the benefits of competition, including lower prices and more choice; and that the benefits of competition from portable prescriptions can be limited by exclusive distribution policies.

Koslov recommended an analytical framework for evaluating the competitive impact of possible limitations on prescription portability imposed by veterinarians on consumers, as well as proposals for reform that would promote greater prescription portability. Lawmakers, according to Koslov, should consider the following factors: (1) the existence and extent of any current limitations on prescription portability; (2) the extent to which any such limitations impede competition and have adverse consequences for consumers; (3) whether purported health and safety concerns cited in support of any such limitations are genuine and supported by evidence, or are instead pretextual or speculative; (4) whether any limitations on prescription portability being imposed by market participants are narrowly tailored to eliminate genuine risks of harm, or are instead more restrictive of competition than necessary; and (5) the potential costs and benefits of any measures that would mandate greater prescription portability.

The FTC “believes that there currently are constraints on prescription portability and that these constraints likely are limiting competition between veterinarians and retailers in the sale of pet medications, which may result in harm to consumers,” Koslov stated. “Although the precise degree of access to portable prescriptions is unknown, as is the magnitude of any harm from restricted access, the Commission concludes that greater prescription portability likely would enhance competition in the pet medications market, and thereby benefit consumers of pet medications.”

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews