Category:

Some of the biggest customers of Philidor Rx, the consolidated specialty pharmacy tucked inside embattled drug giant Valeant Pharmaceuticals, are seeing red flags. Two of the nation’s biggest pharmacy benefits managers, CVS Health and Express Scripts, both said on Thursday they are cutting ties with Philidor Rx after finding the noncompliance with provider agreements…The terminations add a new headache to Valeant Pharmaceuticals as it tries to recover from an onslaught of scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators and investors into its business practices.

Hospitals are continuing to make big investments in technology as they recognize the need to effectively manage population health, according to C-suite execs polled for Premier's Fall 2015 Economic Outlook survey…More than 64 percent of respondents reported an increase to capital budgets this year, reflecting the need for investments in advanced technology to meet value-based care goals…39 percent of these respondents increased their budgets by at least 10 percent…The biggest investment for hospital expenditures is on health information technology, according to 72.2 percent of respondents to the survey…"Investments in HIT, data analytics and modern clinical infrastructure are foundational for providers to seamlessly deliver population health services across their inpatient, outpatient and alternative care sites,"…

Two influential  senators called for close scrutiny of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc's plan to buy Rite Aid Corp for $9.4 billion, a deal that would unite two of the three biggest U.S. drugstore chains...Walgreens Chief Executive Stefano Pessina said the company had analyzed the antitrust aspect of the deal but would not speculate on the number of drugstores it might need to divest in order to win regulatory approval...The top two antitrust lawmakers in the Senate...urged antitrust enforcers to give the plan careful scrutiny because of the importance of healthcare in the U.S. economy..."I have fought tirelessly to promote competition in the health sector and I believe the proposed merger of two of the three largest drug store chains in the country raises serious issues," Senator Amy Klobuchar...on the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee...subcommittee's chair...Senator Mike Lee, said he hoped antitrust agencies would "closely scrutinize" the deal....

Kno2…announced that Surescripts had selected the company’s platform to connect health technology vendors and their users, allowing them to exchange information through Surescripts’ Clinical Direct Messaging…Kno2's platform makes any documents interoperable, allowing clinical documents move between different health care professionals and vendors. Additionally, the company makes APIs available to vendors who want to connect to Surescripts’ network, which can reduce costs associated with implementing direct messaging and getting Electronic Health Record certification. Kno2 also streamlines the process of verifying identities for providers, which takes that responsibility off of vendors.

Wow. Walgreens Boots Alliance is acquiring Rite Aid. As I told The New York Times: “The pharmacy consolidation endgame has begun.”…Given the consumer angle, the deal has been widely covered.

Here are two significant news reports that outline the transaction’s high points:

• Walgreens to Buy Rite Aid for $9.4 Billion in The New York Times
• Walgreens, Rite Aid Unite to Create Drugstore Giant in The Wall Street Journal

..here are the surprisingly skimpy official company documents:

• Press release…
• Fiscal year end 2015 and 4Q earnings conference call (See page 19.)

The deal was not a total surprise. In April, I asked Will Walgreens Boots Alliance Buy Rite Aid?

1. WBA is doubling down on retail pharmacy.
2. Surprisingly, WBA is claiming that mega-scale with payers did not drive the deal.
3. Envision Rx is a learning opportunity, not a strategic driver.
4. The FTC will approve the deal.
5. The deal adds even more complexity and opacity to WBA.
6. It’s good for AmerisourceBergen, but horrible for McKesson.
7. Wholesaler outsourcing will make integration easier.
8. WBA will (probably) proceed with its ABC warrants.
9. All hail our global channels overlord.
10. Big deals beget more deals.

Allergan and Pfizer Inc. confirmed Thursday that they are in talks about a potential combination, in what would be a blockbuster merger capping off a torrid stretch for health-care and other takeovers…The drug makers, in separate statements using similar wording, said they are in "preliminary friendly discussions" about a potential tie-up… A tie-up with Allergan could be a way for New York-based Pfizer to lower its corporate tax rate. Allergan, because it is based in Dublin, has a significantly lower tax rate than companies in the U.S…Pfizer is at a "tremendous disadvantage" under the U.S. corporate tax code and that his company is competing against foreign companies "with one hand tied behind my back."

UnitedHealth Group Inc is nearing a deal to buy Helios for more than $1.6 billion...The takeover of Helios, which is owned by Kelso & Company and Stone Point Capital LLC, could be announced as early as this week…Helios provides workers' compensation and pharmacy benefit management to some of the largest U.S. insurers and third-party administrators. It manages more than 7 million prescriptions annually…A takeover of Helios would follow UnitedHealth's recent $12.8 billion acquisition of Catamaran Corp in an attempt to boost its pharmacy benefit business.

Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs were both admonished…for their inability to work together to create a fully interoperable electronic health record system…The DoD and VA have been attempting to work together for more than two decades to create an interoperable system, and at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, the House Information Technology Sub-Committee chided technology leaders from each…"I don't mean to understate the enormity of the challenge of integrating the two largest federal bureaucracies,"..."but it's clear to me that the inability to integrate these two systems is a problem of leadership, rather than technical feasibility.

Mischaracterization of Specialty Pharmacies: NASP (National Association of Specialty Pharmacy) Corrects the Record….published recently in the New York Times mischaracterize specialty pharmacies. The fact that a company calls itself a specialty pharmacy does not make it so. Simply stated, charging high prices for medications does not define a specialty pharmacy…A specialty pharmacy is a state-licensed pharmacy that solely or largely provides only medications for people with serious health conditions such as cancer, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDs, multiple sclerosis, organ transplantation, or bleeding disorders…specialty pharmacies are often accredited by independent third parties such as URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) or the Accreditation Commission for Health Care…Specialty pharmacies provide medications and related high touch health care services to seriously ill people who need complex medications, assistance in using these medications properly and not infrequently, assistance with reimbursement. Specialty medications have a complex profile, often requiring intensive patient management as well as special handling and administration assistance…

Expecting a flurry of legislative activity in Congress in the weeks ahead, and a highly aggressive 2016 election season, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is making a major push for its NACDS RxIMPACT Pharmacy Advocates group on LinkedIn…On Wednesday, the group had 934 members, with a goal to reach 2,500 by Nov. 3. The purpose of the group is to connect grassroots pharmacy advocates from across the country, and grow its ranks to be poised for action when critical issues arise in Congress, the White House or in the states…“Engagement by pharmacy advocates breathes life into the policy making process. As a constituent, when you meld care stories with issue positions you really personify the impact of legislation. That type of powerful communication can be a game-changer for pharmacy”...