RPM TRADE RESTRAINTS LEGALIZED BY NEW SUPREME COURT RULING

Community pharmacies may soon have less control over the prices they charge for OTC medications and other products, thanks to the US Supreme Court's recent ruling legalizing resale price maintenance (RPM) schemes.

These trade restraints' under which suppliers effectively dictate minimum retail prices for their products, have been treated as a federal antitrust law violation for much of the past century. In reversing course, the high court has given manufacturers of drugs, cosmetics, and other products a green light to establish resale prices for their items, and to refuse to sell to discount retailers who are unwilling to honor those minimum price levels.