A federal judge has granted Cigna a preliminary injunction against former executive Amy Bricker, barring her from joining rival CVS Health as a noncompete case is resolved by the courts.
Missouri Judge Ronnie White granted the insurer a temporary injunction in February and earlier this week issued a sealed opinion detailing the reasons for issuing the injunction. In a public filing, White wrote that Bricker will not be allowed to provide any services to CVS Health or other companies that would compete directly with services provided by Cigna.
In addition, she will not be allowed to take the role of CVS Health's executive vice president of retail or conduct work that could disclose Cigna's corporate secrets while the case is ongoing.
Cigna posted a $250,000 surety bond as part of February's temporary injunction that will remain in the court's custody, according to the order.
The insurer filed suit against Bricker and CVS Health in January after it was revealed she left her position as president of Express Scripts to accept a role at the rival company. Bricker was one of just 16 Cigna executives under a noncompete agreement in her contract, given her high rank at the company.
In its complaint, Cigna said that Bricker was "fully aware" of the noncompete agreement when she accepted a position with CVS.
The insurer argued that an executive role would "inevitably" require Bricker to disclose trade secrets. Express Scripts and CVS Caremark compete directly as two of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country.
Bricker played a key role in developing Express Scripts' pitch to government insurance giant Centene to secure its PBM contract, a move that was ultimately successful. Centene ditched Caremark for Express Scripts, bringing 20 million new members into the fold.
Cigna also argued that Bricker would be able to bring her knowledge of the company's supply chain, business relationship and strategic direction to enable CVS to develop products that could compete with it directly.