Another busy day draws to a close. At least for now. Who knows what may turn up later? Maybe another high-ranking exec will suddenly resign? Nonetheless, we will break to entertain one of the short people and check back later. We will also compile the results of our two latest unscientific polls - one concerning [...]

This may not come as a surprise. After all, CVS is a huge retailer and Caremark, which is a large pharmacy benefits manager, operates a big mail-order operation. But a recent lawsuit confirms that the merger is going to make life tougher for generic drugmakers, as Adam Fein at Drug Channels points out this morning.
In [...]

Here’s a new twist on formulary preference. Caremark, the big pharmacy benefits manager, is being paid by the Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture to produce newsletters touting Vytorin. But the arrangement isn’t clear without wading through the small print, according to Newsday.
The newsletter states there were changes to Caremark’s formulary for meds with lower co-payments, and devoted [...]

Despite the last-minute flurry of criticism yesterday from Express Scripts and shareholder advisory groups, this isn’t all that surprising. The vote for the $27 billion bid effectively ends the months-long takeover fight between the retailer and the PBM for Caremark.
CVS had not raised its original stock offer, which calls for Caremark shareholders to receive 1.67 [...]

The cash portion, that is. The announcement comes after CVS shareholders earlier today voted to support the retailer’s takeover of Caremark. The vote wasn’t surprising. But the real test comes tomorrow, when Caremark shareholders get to choose between CVS and Express Scripts.
Here’s an excerpt from the Express Scripts missive:
“Caremark’s closed door has prevented us from [...]

This comes from Glass Lewis, the shareholder advisory firm, which remains critical of Caremark:
“We are troubled that the Caremark directors failed to promote a competitive bidding or partnering process. Investors should remain concerned that the board of Caremark has not done all it could to ensure that shareholders stand to receive the highest value in [...]

The PBM is struggling to hit back in the war over Caremark. Express Scripts just released this statement from PROXY Governance, a shareholder advisory firm, which thinks the CVS bid for Caremark is just plain awful and an affront to shareholder sensibility:
“We question whether Caremark’s management and board negotiated the best deal for shareholders. The [...]

This ain’t no foolin’ around, says Tom Ryan, the retailer’s ceo.
The drug-store chain sweetened its bid for Caremark by increasing the cash dividend to $7.50 a share, making its offer worth about $24.8 billlion. By comparison, a rival bid from Express Scripts is worth $26 billion, but faces additional anti-trust scrutiny. In a tough-talking statement, [...]

The Delaware judge tries to play Solomon.
He refused to invalidate a $675 million breakup fee aimed at protecting the proposed acquisition of Caremark, the big PBM, by CVS, the big retailer. But the decision by Chancellor Bill Chandler III makes it possible for shareholders to eventually vote on the deal.
“Only in extraordinary circumstances will this [...]

Hold those shares. The vote is now scheduled for March 9, instead of Feb. 20, thanks to an order signed this afternoon by Delaware Chancellor William B. Chandler III.
Chandler is hearing a shareholder lawsuit challenging the Caremark-CVS deal filed by Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System. Lawyers for the pension fund asked the judge to [...]