U.S. court rejects Linden Care's request for temporary restraining order

(Reuters) - A U.S. District Court on Wednesday denied specialty pharmacy Linden Care LLC's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Express Scripts Holding Co for dropping it from its network earlier this month. Express Scripts, the largest manager of prescription drug plans in the United States, severed ties with Linden Care for dispensing drugs from Horizon Pharma Plc, which has come under fire for charging high prices. The pharmacy benefits manager also said that Linden Care did not fulfill key parts of its pharmacy network agreements. Linden Care failed to make "a clear showing that it was entitled to the relief requested" or that "extreme or very serious damage will result from a denial of preliminary relief," the District Court for the Northern District of New York said in a court filing on Wednesday. "We are disappointed in this ruling and believe we will prevail in arbitration proceedings," Marc Wiener, chief executive of Linden Care said in a statement. The Woodbury, New-York-based company provides specialty pharmacy services to the pain management industry. Express Scripts' move to drop Linden Care came as other big pharmacy benefit managers evaluated drug dispensaries, after Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc came under fire for questionable practices at its partner pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services. Valeant subsequently cut ties with Philidor and said it was investigating its practices. (Reporting by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru; Editing by Siddharth Cavale)