While retail pharmacies have been struggling lately, CVS may have an ace up its sleeve: its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Caremark.

PBMs are the intermediaries between pharmacies and drug manufacturers that set the reimbursement rates pharmacies receive for dispensing drugs. The three largest PBMs in the country—CVS’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx—are all vertically integrated within other large healthcare companies and collectively administer roughly 80% of prescriptions in the US, affecting an estimated 270 million people, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The companies’ pricing structures are not very transparent, as they aren’t required to disclose how they set reimbursement rates or how much they profit from drug manufacturer rebates. They’re also generally pretty profitable, with the big three PBMs achieving combined revenues of more than $400 billion in 2022, according to data from nonprofit research organization the Brookings Institution.

For comparison, the global pharmaceutical industry brings in about $1.6 trillion a year, while the health tech market was worth $278 billion in 2023.

Keep reading here.—MA, CM

Are you curious about all the ways that multimillion-dollar medical tech can go wrong? Do you ever notice a medical device that has been taken out of rotation, and wonder why? Or are you simply bored and looking for something to read?

If your answer is yes to any of those questions, then welcome to Recall Roundup, where we’ll keep you updated on medical device recalls posted over the last month.

Recalls range from correcting an issue to removing a device from the market altogether. They range from Class III to Class I, arranged respectively from least to most dangerous. Class I means the product poses a high risk of serious injury or death.

The FDA posts a list of Class I recalls on its website after the manufacturer takes action. The agency also posted early alerts for potential high-risk recalls or corrections as part of a new pilot program, announced November 21. 

Keep reading here.—CC

Walgreens gave investors some much-needed good news on Friday, reporting Q1 2025 results that were better than what analysts had expected.

In response, the retail pharmacy giant’s stock shot up more than 25% from $9.49 to $11.99, a refreshing change for a company that saw its shares plummet 63% in 2024.

But don’t get too excited—overall results were a bit of a mixed bag. The company reported a $265 million net loss for the quarter, compared to a $67 million net loss for the same period last year. On the other hand, it brought in $39.5 billion in total sales for Q1, a 7.5% increase from the previous year’s $36.7 million.

And anyone hoping to hear an update on the speculation around Walgreens selling itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners was probably disappointed, as neither CEO Tim Wentworth nor other execs gave any mention of it during the earnings call.

Keep reading here.—MA