Dive Brief:

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting an Arkansas law that would prevent pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies, in an early win for PBMs in the case.

Major PBMs and the trade association representing the drug middlemen all sued Arkansas after the state passed the law in April, arguing it was unconstitutional. The suits have since been consolidated in an Arkansas district court.

The judge’s Monday order , which agrees the law is anticompetitive and may violate the Constituion, suggests the PBMs may be successful in getting the law overturned.

Dive Insight:

Four PBMs — including CVS Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx , the so-called “Big Three” PBMs that jointly control 80% of all U.S. prescriptions — all chal

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