Regulators sue to block Omnicare's bid to buy PharMerica

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Antitrust regulators sued to block Omnicare's bid to buy rival PharMerica Corp, saying the combination would harm competition and allow Omnicare to raise the price of drugs for Medicare Part D consumers.

Omnicare and PharMerica are the top two companies in the long-term pharmacy services sector, which provide drugs and other goods to nursing homes, assisted-living centers, and other long-term care facilities, the Federal Trade Commission said.

"If Omnicare is allowed to purchase its biggest and only national competitor, it will diminish competition and raise health care costs - leaving taxpayers and patients to foot the bill," Richard Feinstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. "The Bureau will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent these sorts of anticompetitive deals."

Omnicare made its $441 million hostile offer for PharMerica last year.

The two companies have 250 pharmacies nationwide, according to the trade group Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Gary Hill and Tim Dobbyn)