Centene Strengthens Specialty Pharmacy Rare Disease Position with PantherRx Acquisition

Centene Corporation (Centene) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PANTHERx, one of the largest and fastest-growing specialty pharmacies in the United States specializing in orphan drugs and rare diseases. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of 2020.

PANTHERx is a leader in rare disease pharmacy, comprehensively serving patients afflicted with rare and devastating conditions through delivery of medicine breakthroughs, clinical excellence, and access solutions.

PANTHERx offers a suite of synchronized compliance, logistics, and analytics solutions to help streamline the process of delivering orphan medications and care to people living with complicated rare diseases.

PANTHERx and its management team will continue to operate independently as part of Centene’s Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, a total drug management program that includes integrated Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) services and specialty pharmacy solutions to millions of members throughout the United States.

Over 7,000 rare diseases affect more than 30 million people in the United States. Many rare conditions are life-threatening and most do not have treatments. The Biopharmaceutical industry is making progress developing new drugs to treat rare diseases.

More than 770 medicines have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since enactment of the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 and more than 560 medicines are in the current biopharmaceutical pipeline.

Biophama companies are increasingly interested in establishing relationships with  experienced specialty pharmacies to dispense rare disease drugs to patients.

Envolve Pharmacy Solutions (Envolve) offers traditional pharmacy benefits management as well as comprehensive specialized pharmacy benefit services through its specialty pharmacy, AcariaHealth.

Envolve takes a collaborative approach to specialty drug management, utilizing its team’s extensive specialty pharmacy services expertise to create significant savings for health plans and payers.

Envolve’s patient-centric, protocol-driven clinical data collection methods deliver measurable results to its clients. Envolve offers a national footprint of specialty pharmacies providing accessibility, consistent processes and quality service. Envolve offers a national footprint of specialty pharmacies providing accessibility, consistent processes and quality service. 

AcariaHealth works closely with pharmaceutical manufacturers to help patients get their medication and manage their conditions affordably. Clinical teams educate patients on their medications and support patient adherence to their drug protocols, and AcariaHealth has access to various copay assistance programs to help ease potential financial burden.

Takeaway: Centene’s specialty services are a key component of its healthcare strategy and complement the company’s core Managed Care business