Industry News
Cyber security
May 10, 2024

St. Louis-based nonprofit and Catholic healthcare network Ascension, that operates 140 hospitals across more than a dozen states and Washington, DC, detected unusual activity in their network systems on May 8th and determined it was a cybersecurity incident. According to the news release, their team responded immediately, notified the appropriate authorities as well as business partners, and engaged Mandiant, a third-party expert, to assist in the investigation and remediation process.

“Safely caring for patients remains our highest priority as we navigate this cybersecurity incident,” per the release. “We are actively supporting our ministries as they continue to provide safe, patient care with established downtime protocols and procedures, in which our workforce is well trained. It is expected that we will be utilizing downtime procedures for some time. Patients should bring to their appointment notes on their symptoms and a list of current medications and prescription numbers or the prescription bottles so their care team can call in medication needs to pharmacies. We are working around the clock with internal and external advisors to investigate, contain, and restore our systems following a thorough validation and screening process. Our investigation and restoration work will take time to complete, and we do not have a timeline for completion.”

Systems that are currently unavailable include electronic health records system, MyChart (which enables patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), some phone systems, and various systems utilized to order certain tests, procedures and medications. The release stated that they have implemented established protocols and procedures to address these particular system disruptions in order to continue to provide safe care to patients.

Certain non-emergent elective procedures, tests and appointments have been temporarily paused. Due to downtime procedures, several hospitals are currently on diversion for emergency medical services in order to ensure emergency cases are triaged immediately.

Doctor presenting app
May 09, 2024

SAN FRANCISO, CA — Otsuka America, Inc. (OAI) announces Otsuka Precision Health, Inc. (OPH), a company that will serve as a catalyst for delivering the right interventions at the right time along patients’ and caregivers’ unique health journeys, ranging from connected health solutions to digital therapeutics, all powered by advanced analytics tools like artificial intelligence. OPH will focus on the patient experience as a core piece of improving how better outcomes might be achieved across nephrology, mental health, and beyond.

The recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of Rejoyn™ is the first prescription digital therapeutic authorized for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms. OPH will serve to commercialize Rejoyn™.

“Changes are needed to realize the potential of technology in health, and we’re ready to boldly address the barriers patients face in receiving care by taking a fundamentally new approach,” said Sanket Shah, president of OPH. “This Company will allow us to build on our commitment to the digital and technology space and continue building momentum with products such as, Rejoyn™, in a way that traditional pharmaceutical companies have not been able to explore.”

Combining the evidence-based rigor of pharma with a data-first focus on a more individualized approach to supporting patients, OPH has a unique opportunity to bring promising innovations to market quickly. Otsuka is deepening its commitment to the meaningful role technology can play in the lives of patients and the care teams that surround them.

“At this time there is a great desire for alternative therapies and treatments in the mental health space, especially given the outpaced demand in recent years,” said Shah. “New interventions that better connect, engage, and personalize care will be welcomed by patients and providers.”

Hands holding kidneys
May 09, 2024

CHARLOTTE, NC Premier, Inc. announced a strategic partnership with AstraZeneca called Uncover CKD - Care Collective aiming to identify patients with undiagnosed clinical chronic kidney disease (CKD); raise awareness of undiagnosed CKD among healthcare providers; and inform U.S. health systems that want to improve or develop and implement their strategies for CKD diagnosis, treatment and management.

In the U.S., more than 37 million adults have CKD, and the prevalence is rising. Of these adult patients, 90 percent do not know they have CKD. Total inflation-adjusted Medicare expenditures for patients with end-stage renal disease increased to $53 billion in 2019. Among CKD patients, the cost of preventable hospitalizations is $79 million.

Through collaborative initiatives and scalable solutions from across the Premier enterprise, including its PINC AI™ technology and services platform, the Uncover CKD - Care Collective is addressing undiagnosed and rising CKD and the resulting economic burden to the U.S. healthcare system. The partnership with AstraZeneca demonstrates a commitment to implement and learn about innovative approaches to driving optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy for patients.

“We’re thrilled to be working with AstraZeneca and Premier member health systems to help solve the myriad challenges CKD presents to patients and our healthcare system,” said Leigh Anderson, Chief Operating Officer, Premier. “The Uncover CKD - Care Collective initiative highlights the impact collaborative partnerships across life sciences organizations and health systems – coupled with actionable real-world data (RWD), artificial intelligence (AI)-powered clinical and operational solutions, and best-practice consulting and collaboratives – can have in improving the care and cost of treating chronic diseases. As our collective work moves the needle on the rate of CKD diagnosis, those patients previously undiagnosed can begin to be treated and their conditions managed, limiting down-the-line costs associated with more severe disease stages.”

The Uncover CKD - Care Collective is poised to make significant strides in improving CKD diagnosis and advancing patient care through the utilization of:

  • PINC AI™ Applied Sciences (PAS) RWD leveraging the PINC AI™ Healthcare Database, laboratory data and technology to identify high-volume areas of unidentified, at-risk patients; screen undiagnosed CKD patients, estimate prevalence and report hospital-specific patient counts; and describe patient characteristics and the clinical and economic outcomes of undiagnosed CKD. This discovery phase work has been completed and findings disseminated to characterize the burden of CKD across the health systems, prioritize and focus hospital-level initiatives, and commit to sustainable organizational change.
  • PAS Improvement Science’s Health System Awareness Package, including provider and patient education, provider resources and workflow processes as well as support for participating health systems through provider engagement – all created to be scaled broadly across Premier’s health system network.
  • PINC AI™ Stanson AI-powered technology, including clinical decision support and real-time alerts integrated into the provider workflow, to help strategically modify provider behavior to improve CKD screening, diagnosis and care quality.
  • PINC AI™ Advisory Services to actively engage physicians, foster mutual accountability and drive clinical transformation and quality improvement efforts around CKD diagnosis, treatment and management throughout the health systems.
  • Premier Pharmacy and Group Purchasing Organization resources to optimize medication management protocols and streamline operational processes for enhanced efficiency and positive patient outcomes.
  • PINC AI™ Population Health Management Collaborative, including member Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and those on the transformation to value-based care, to facilitate idea exchange and best practice sharing.
  • Health system collaboration to share project outcomes, publish a white paper, develop a poster presentation for the National Kidney Foundation and present findings at Premier’s 2024 Breakthroughs Conference & Exhibition.

“Through commitment to AstraZeneca’s medical missions of putting patients first and following the science, the Uncover CKD program is applying RWD to create urgency to diagnose and treat patients with CKD. With this innovative partnership we are leveraging relationships with health systems to improve care for 2.8 million patients identified to benefit from earlier CKD diagnosis and treatment,” said Rachele Berria, Vice President and Medical Head, US BioPharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca.

Health System Selection Criteria

In the selection of target health systems for the Uncover CKD - Care Collective, the project team considered disease burden, patient composition (e.g., age, sex, race, ethnicity), payer composition (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, uninsured), hospital region (geographic diversity), urbanicity of served population, teaching status and hospital size. Priority was given to health systems serving many socially disadvantaged patients (i.e., health equity). For patient outreach efforts, the project team provided screening algorithms to the target sites so that they can identify socially disadvantaged patients with undiagnosed CKD for targeted outreach.

Hospitals and health systems in the U.S. can request access to the online PINC AI™ Community “Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): Diagnosis and Mgmt.” to obtain outreach materials that have been developed as part of the Uncover CKD Project such as educational resources and tools for patients and healthcare professionals. Premier will work with respective hospitals or health systems to provide relevant resources, based on needs.

Heart in chest cavity
May 08, 2024

DALLAS, TX — Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is the most common type of irregular heartbeat, estimated to affect about 12.1 million U.S. adults by 2030. The abnormal firing of electrical impulses causes part of the heart to quiver, or fibrillate, often leading to complications and up to a fivefold increased risk of stroke. ​To help ensure all patients with AFib receive the most appropriate care, the American Heart Association is launching a new effort to educate and engage pharmacists, an important but underrepresented voice in AFib care.

“Pharmacists are an integral part of the multidisciplinary team to optimize care for individuals with atrial fibrillation,” said Cody Parsons, APh, PharmD, BCCCP, manager of clinical operations for Stanford Health Care's cardiovascular health service line. “The insight of pharmacists in evaluating the medical complexity and use of multiple medications is essential in facilitating safe and effective anticoagulation and ultimately preventing life-altering medical consequences of AFib.”

This new effort, being conducted through June 2025, is the latest phase of the Association’s Four Fs of Atrial Fibrillation initiative, supported by Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance. The Four Fs are patient health concerns impeding guideline-directed anticoagulant therapy, including:

  • fear of falling,
  • fear of bleeding,
  • forgetfulness, or cognitive dysfunction and
  • frailty.

Pharmacists are often not consulted in the decision-making conversations for Afib patients during the patient care journey. During this next phase of the initiative, the Association will convene pharmacists in a roundtable event to identify gaps and opportunities related to AFib in this field. The Association then will share resources and insights nationally across thousands of hospitals and outpatient clinics.

AFib is often only detectable during physical examination, although some affected people may experience fatigue, rapid and irregular heartbeat or other discomfort.​ ​The use of anticoagulant therapy to reduce stroke risk is supported by science, but many patients remain untreated or undertreated.

Medical Report
May 07, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a new report showing that hospitals and health systems continue to experience significant financial pressures that challenge their ability to provide 24/7 care for the patients and communities they serve. 

“As this report clearly highlights, increased expenses, workforce challenges, and growing administrative burden are unsustainable and creating headwinds and obstacles that threaten access to care for millions of Americans,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “The AHA urges Congress and the Administration to take action to strengthen hospitals and health systems and bolster access to care for all patients and communities.”

In 2023, data show that hospitals and health systems continued to face substantial challenges due to higher costs for labor, drugs, and supplies. At the same time, reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid did not keep pace with these mounting costs, and hospitals and health systems increasingly encountered challenges navigating onerous commercial insurer practices such as denying and delaying access to and payment for patient care. These headwinds persist in 2024 and have been further exacerbated by the recent unprecedented Change Healthcare cyberattack, forcing many hospitals to dip into their diminishing cash reserves to maintain operations.

Key findings from the report include:

  • Economy-wide inflation grew by 12.4% between 2021 and 2023, more than double the 5.2% growth in Medicare reimbursement for hospital inpatient care. This makes it harder for hospitals to maintain access to care and invest in cybersecurity and cutting-edge treatment.
  • Hospitals and health systems incurred significant underpayments for several essential and complex health care services in 2023, including:
    • Payments for inpatient behavioral health services were on average 34% below costs across all payers.
    • In the outpatient setting, payments for costly burn and wound services were on average 43% below costs across all payers.
  • Hospitals and health systems face mounting administrative burden and costs due to certain commercial health insurer practices like prior authorization and denials. At the same time, health insurance premiums grew twice as fast as hospital prices in 2023.
  • Increasing drug prices and workforce challenges continue to cause hospitals financial stress.
    • In 2023, the median annual list price for a new drug was $300,000, an increase of 35% from the prior year.
    • 2023 saw the most drug shortages in over a decade; there were an average of 301 drugs in shortage per quarter, an increase of 13% from the previous year.
    • Hospitals’ labor costs, which on average accounts for 60% of a hospital’s budget, increased by more than $42.5 billion between 2021 and 2023.

The full report is available here, along with a one-page executive summary.

Hospital Exterior
May 06, 2024

DALLAS, TX — Steward Health Care, a national fully integrated value-based healthcare system and the largest physician-led hospital operator in the United States, announced that it has commenced an in-court restructuring process through the filing of voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Company is finalizing the terms of debtor-in-possession financing from Medical Properties Trust for initial funding of $75 million and up to an additional $225 million upon the satisfaction of certain conditions acceptable to Medical Properties Trust. 

Steward took this voluntary step today as a necessary measure to allow the company to continue to provide necessary care to its patients in their communities without disruption. Steward does not expect any interruptions in its day-to-day operations, which will continue in the ordinary course throughout the Chapter 11 process. Steward’s hospitals, medical centers and physician’s offices are open and continuing to serve patients and the broader community and our commitment to our employees will not change. 

“Steward Health Care has done everything in its power to operate successfully in a highly challenging health care environment. Filing for Chapter 11 restructuring is in the best interests of our patients, physicians, employees, and communities at this time,” said Dr. Ralph de la Torre, Chief Executive Officer of Steward. “In the past several months we have secured bridge financing and progressed the sale of our Stewardship Health business in order to help stabilize operations at all of our hospitals. With the delay in closing of the Stewardship Health transaction, Steward was forced to seek alternative methods of bridging its operations. With the additional financing in this process, we are confident that we will keep hospitals open, supplied, and operating so that our care of our patients and our employees is maintained. By working collaboratively with stakeholders in this court-supervised controlled environment, and having the benefit of our earlier strategic efforts, Steward will be better positioned to responsibly transition ownership of its Massachusetts-based hospitals, keep all of its hospitals open to treat patients, and ensure the continued care and service of our patients and our communities.” 

The other primary factor driving this voluntary Chapter 11 case is, in large part, due to Steward continuing to face challenges created by insufficient reimbursement by government payors as a result of decreasing reimbursement rates while at the same time facing skyrocketing labor costs, increased material and operational costs due to inflation, and the continued impacts of the COVID19 pandemic. It is Steward’s goal to resolve the Chapter 11 process as quickly as possible, with the help of the court, with a view to the long-term and sustainable financial health of the system

Research
May 03, 2024

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC and BOSTON, MA — G1 Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage oncology company, and Pepper Bio, the world’s first transomics drug discovery and development company, announced a global licensing agreement (excluding the Asia-Pacific region) for lerociclib for all indications except for certain radioprotectant uses. As Pepper Bio’s first in-licensed therapeutic, lerociclib is a potent and selective inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6). The therapeutic has previously demonstrated impressive efficacy in clinical studies across various cancer types, including two completed Phase 3 clinical trials in HR+/Her2- metastatic breast cancer.

Today, the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the third leading cause of all cancer-related deaths. Using Pepper Bio’s transomics platform, COMPASS, the company was able to identify CDK4 and CDK6 as potentially important targets in treating HCC. Pepper Bio then tested lerociclib in preclinical models, which showed superior efficacy over standard of care during and after dosing. With this in-licensing deal, lerociclib will be Pepper Bio’s first therapeutic on its way to Phase 2 clinical trials.

Pepper Bio’s platform, COMPASS, translates layers of biological maps, including genomics (genes), transcriptomics (RNA), proteomics (proteins), and phosphoproteomics (function of proteins), to offer researchers a complete picture of how diseases impact biology. Setting Pepper Bio apart from other drug discovery platforms is its unprecedented ability to look at the real-time function of proteins in a biological system, as opposed to the current methods of only measuring the presence, type, and quantity of proteins. COMPASS unveils the intricate functions of these proteins, which significantly impact how drugs are built and developed.

"Liver cancer is a real and devastating diagnosis for hundreds of thousands of patients each year. Adding lerociclib into our pipeline is a significant step forward in our mission to find treatments for untreatable diseases," said Jon Hu, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Pepper Bio. “Lerociclib holds tremendous promise as a cornerstone of our oncology portfolio, and we are excited to leverage its potential to bring life-saving treatments to those in need."

Pepper Bio will gain exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize lerociclib for all indications except for certain radioprotectant uses in the US, Europe, Japan, and all other global markets, excluding the Asia-Pacific region, which G1 has already licensed to Genor Biopharma. G1 Therapeutics and Pepper Bio will collaborate closely to ensure a seamless transition and advance the development of lerociclib through clinical trials and regulatory approval processes. Pepper Bio is now poised to initiate clinical development programs for lerociclib, with the ultimate goal of obtaining regulatory approvals and making lerociclib available to patients as quickly as possible.

Under the terms of the agreement, G1 is expected to receive upfront payments totaling mid-single-digit millions within 12 months and is eligible to receive a maximum of $135M upon achievement of development and commercial milestones in up to three indications. In addition, Pepper Bio will pay G1 a double-digit royalty on aggregate annual net sales of lerociclib.

"Pepper Bio’s commitment to innovation makes them the right partner for advancing lerociclib through the next stages of clinical development,” said Jack Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of G1 Therapeutics. “This agreement is consistent with our corporate strategy to form partnerships that enable global access to our promising oncology therapies; with Pepper Bio, we look forward to the opportunity to realize the full therapeutic potential of lerociclib across new oncology indications."

Walmart Health App
May 02, 2024

BENTONVILLE, AR — Walmart made the decision to close all 51 health centers across five states and shut down their virtual care offering, noting that the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs create a lack of profitability that make the care business unsustainable for them at this time.

From Walmart's news release: "Our priority will be ensuring the people and communities who are impacted are treated with the utmost respect, compassion and support throughout the transition. We do not yet have a specific date for when each center will close but will share as soon as decisions are made. While we will no longer operate health centers, we will take what we learned as we provide trusted health and wellness services across the country through our nearly 4,600 Pharmacies and more than 3,000 Vision Centers. For 40 years, we have provided these high quality, accessible and affordable points of care that are integral to their respective communities."

Over the past few years, the importance of Pharmacies has continued to grow, and Walmart has expanded the clinical capabilities of the services they provide. They will continue to offer immunizations and have grown to provide testing and treatment services, access to specialty pharmacy medication and care, as well as other essential services such as medication therapy management and a variety of health screenings. With more than 4,000 stores in medical provider shortage areas, Walmart stated that their pharmacies are often the front door of healthcare.

Walmart states that they are focused on continuity of care for patients and providing impacted associates with respect and assistance as they begin the closing process of the health care centers. Read the full release here.

Molecular structure
May 01, 2024

LA JOLLA, CA — Enlaza Therapeutics, the first covalent biologic platform company, today announced a $100 million Series A financing. The financing will be used to further develop Enlaza’s proprietary covalent protein technologies and to support advancement of wholly owned pipeline programs to the clinic.

The financing was led by the Life Sciences group of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Private Capital division, with participation from existing investors: Frazier Life Sciences, Avalon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Samsara BioCapital. The financing also includes new investors: Amgen Ventures, Regeneron Ventures, Bregua Corporation, Pappas Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments. Concurrent with the financing, Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Life Sciences group of J.P. Morgan Private Capital, was named to the Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to close this financing with a group of new and existing investors that share our vision of creating a novel, differentiated class of protein therapeutics in oncology and other therapeutic areas,” said Sergio Duron, Ph.D., CEO of Enlaza Therapeutics. “This support will enable continued expansion of our covalent protein drug platform, establishment of a diversified pipeline that demonstrates the broad potential of this approach, and advancement of our lead assets toward clinical development.”

“Bringing covalency to the biologics market is an extremely valuable way to unlock the next generation of protein therapeutics that are safer and more tolerable and can be dosed more frequently with lower doses,” said Stephen Squinto, CIO of Life Sciences group of J.P. Morgan Private Capital. “We believe Enlaza’s platform is well positioned for many first-in-class and best-in-class opportunities and are excited to partner with this senior management team.”

Enlaza’s covalent biologic platform, called War-LockTM, creates highly specific therapeutic warheads that covalently bind to drug targets of interest. This white-space technology enables, for the first time, a covalent-acting protein drug that retains the selectivity of small-format biologics. These unique protein drugs enable specific covalent binding to an intended protein target, improving efficacy while simultaneously reducing toxicities related to sustained peripheral exposure.

The War-Lock platform has broad applications and produces therapeutic candidates with excellent drug-like properties. Protein drugs produced by the platform can be modified to incorporate various payloads and achieve specific delivery to target tissues with high fidelity. Enlaza has generated further preclinical data for its oncology drug candidates supporting the covalent mechanism of action by demonstrating efficient tumor penetration coupled with rapid systemic clearance, high tumor retention, and low off-target liabilities. These data have enabled Enlaza to develop a high-value pipeline of covalent protein drugs.

The company’s Board of Directors is comprised of Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., J.P. Morgan Private Capital; Jamie Topper, M.D., Ph.D., Frazier Life Sciences, Jay Lichter, Ph.D., Avalon Ventures; Shelley Chu, M.D., Ph.D., Lightspeed Venture Partners; Marcos Milla, Ph.D., Samsara BioCapital, and Sergio Duron, Ph.D., CEO, Enlaza Therapeutics.

Walgreens prescription bottle
Apr 29, 2024

DEERFIELD, IL — Walgreens is expanding its specialty pharmacy services and investing in its capabilities as the company further grows its core pharmacy business to improve patient outcomes and provide greater value to payers and partners. The company introduced Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, a holistic offering that expands access to care for patients with complex, chronic conditions and enables partnerships that drive profitability for Walgreens’ pharmacy business. The company is also making investments that will transform its specialty pharmacy offerings, including gene and cell therapy services.

“With approximately $24 billion in annual enterprise specialty revenue, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is the largest independent provider that offers the industry's most robust specialty capabilities not vertically aligned with a pharmacy benefit manager,” said Rick Gates, chief pharmacy officer, Walgreens. “We have the flexibility to contract dynamically with any payer. We can partner directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers to facilitate products to market, including limited distribution drugs, and coordinate closely with providers to ensure patients experience a smooth start to treatment.”

Under the new business, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is the only specialty pharmacy in the market with the following services and assets at scale:

  • Gene and Cell Services Pharmacy and Innovation Center – a dedicated 18,000-square-foot center in Pittsburgh, PA, with services and capabilities for these emerging therapies, including innovative solutions for managing the complexity of the supply chain, logistics and financing as well as clinical and social needs management to ensure success for patients and partners.
  • Four central specialty pharmacies – each holding several national pharmacy accreditations – where pharmacists and care teams across the country work together to dispense highly complex medications and help patients manage chronic or rare diseases and conditions. These pharmacies hold distinctions in oncology and rare/orphan conditions and offer patients and caregivers clinical services that drive engagement, adherence and outcomes.
  • Nearly 300 community-based specialty pharmacies across the nation – more than any other pharmacy. These specialty pharmacies are strategically located near medical office buildings and health systems, closely aligning care provision with local physicians, offering patients access to specialty medications faster than the industry average, as well as services like injection training, medication side-effect management and financial assistance coordination for medications.
  • More than 1,500 specialty-trained pharmacists, 5,000 patient advocacy support team members and dedicated Specialty360 teams that support all specialty condition and therapies.
  • A growing roster of 240 limited distribution drugs, including 40 narrow networks and 12 exclusive limited distribution drugs.
  • Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is focused on breaking through healthcare system silos, bringing convenient access to hard-to-find medications and critical adherence support. Building upon the deep, trusted relationships Walgreens pharmacists have with providers and communities, the model enables more comprehensive care to ultimately help payers better manage specialty costs.

Specialty medications today account for more than 50% of prescription drug spend in the U.S.[1] due to the increasing prevalence of chronic disease. There is a need for disease management solutions that are treated by specialty drugs. To advance solutions, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy enables patient access to specialized treatments through a newly formed integrated care model, driving cost savings and efficiencies in care by uniting the company’s pharmacy teams and distribution network across providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans and payers.

Walgreens is building on its decades of experience serving the specialty pharmacy needs of commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, and other government and private payers. The company provides services or access to nearly all pharmacy benefit managers and major health plans— as well as alternative payment and service models that help health plans and PBMs differentiate themselves for their clients and members.

Effective August 1, 2024, AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy will become Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy. Patients of AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy and Walgreens community-based specialty pharmacies now have access to resources that will build upon the expert care they already receive from their specialty pharmacist, including clinicians with key disease state expertise, nutritionists and care nurses. Specialty patients can also view their entire prescription profile at Walgreens, including their retail prescriptions.

“When a patient must confront a life-changing, serious health challenge and begins therapy for a chronic or complex condition, our pharmacists are right there to guide and care for them throughout their healthcare journey —from helping them order and take their medication to identifying financial assistance opportunities and working with their doctor and insurance plan to make sure they’re receiving the most coordinated care,” Gates said.

In addition, Walgreens has seen consistent growth through its wholly owned subsidiary Shields Health Solutions, the nation’s premier health system-owned specialty pharmacy accelerator. Shields specialty model provides integrated care solutions for local health systems and specialty pharmacy patients, working with over 1,000 hospitals across 45 states. The Shields business will continue supporting health systems specialty pharmacies, which complement Walgreens newly enhanced specialty pharmacy offerings.

The launch of Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is the company’s latest initiative aimed at expanding the role its pharmacy teams play in patients’ lives and bringing their clinical expertise to help payers, providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and partners deliver critical healthcare. It also further supports Walgreens' efforts to achieve provider status for its pharmacists given their influence and integral role in healthcare delivery.

[1] IQVIA. Global Use of Medicines 2023. https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publicat…