Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994                   TAG: 9411070078
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

WASHINGTON - Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to an unprecedented set of federal restrictions from the Federal Trade Commission in order to complete its takeover of the nation's largest manager of prescription drug benefits.

The commission approved Lilly's $4 billion purchase of PCS Health Systems Inc. from the McKesson Corp. after Lilly said it would ensure that drugs it manufactures do not get preference over competitors' products. The deal is expected to be completed in mid-November.

The FTC said the restrictions will ensure that the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company does not gain an unfair competitive advantage over other drug makers when PCS recommends which pharmaceuticals its customers should buy.

-Associated Press

Bell Atlantic seeks more SCC freedoms

Bell Atlantic-Virginia, which last month was cleared to earn unlimited profit on monopoly services, has asked the State Corporation Commission to reverse a decision requiring it to eliminate monthly Touch-Tone charges as a concession for the deregulation of earnings.

Bell Atlantic also asked the SCC to lift a moratorium on rate increases through 2000 on several services that face no competition but are not part of basic local service.

The company estimated that the loss of Touch-Tone fees and the inability to raise rates on other services would cost it $150 million to $160 million in revenue over six years.

The SCC has until Tuesday to act on any petitions for reconsideration of its Oct. 18 order, which approved temporary price caps proposed by Bell Atlantic, the state's largest telephone company; Sprint/Centel-Virginia, based in Charlottesville; and Sprint/United Telephone-Southeast, based in Bristol.

The SCC also approved a modified version of its 6-year-old experimental plan for GTE Virginia, the state's second-largest telephone company. GTE would remain subject to traditional regulation of monopoly services but be free to earn unlimited profits on services facing competition.

-Associated Press