Specialty Pharmacy News Roundup: January 2024

The following company announcements are just a few of the specialty pharmacy company activities from this month. Subscribe to AMI’s Specialty Pharmacy Database to stay up to date on company and industry trends. 

Biologics by McKesson opened a new pharmacy location in Fort Worth, Texas in January 2024 and now operates from two locations.

BioMatrix Specialty Pharmacy announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Kathee Kramm as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Nick Karalis, founder and former CEO. Nick will assume the role of Executive Chairman and will lead the company’s pursuit of key strategic growth initiatives. This change is the culmination of a year-long succession plan and an accelerant to BioMatrix’s growth in specialty infusion.

Clearway Health, a specialty pharmacy accelerator partnering with hospitals and health systems, has pioneered a model to support hospitals in enabling access to novel gene therapy treatments. The model was used to execute and accelerate payor, legal and procurement processes for Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., to treat their first pediatric patient with ZYNTEGLO^®, a one-time, potentially curative breakthrough gene therapy treatment for transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, a rare blood disorder requiring regular red blood cell transfusions.

Shields Health Solutions (Shields), the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country, partnered with Sharp HealthCare (Sharp), a not-for-profit regional healthcare group in San Diego, to collaborate on an expansion of a specialty pharmacy program that provides patients with complex, chronic conditions access to specialized pharmacy services designed to lower costs, expand treatment options, enhance medication management, and improve overall health. The partnership between Sharp and Shields will offer support services for the unique needs of patients with an initial focus on four key disease states: hematology, oncology, rheumatology, and cardiology.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is exploring a sale of specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sale could be valued at more than $4 billion, the report added. The U.S. pharmacy chain is working with advisers to assess the level of interest in Shields Health, the report said, adding that the specialty pharmacy company is expected to draw interest from private equity firms and healthcare companies.

Tops Markets LLC has officially launched the new Tops Markets Specialty Pharmacy Program. The grocer’s expanded specialty pharmacy services will provide more convenient and personalized care for patients with chronic and complex medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hepatitis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.

New pharmacy services for the NYUHS community in the Southern Tier is coming soon at345 Main Street in Johnson City. Specialty Pharmacy and a 24 hour community pharmacy to serve patients all day every day. Through the UHS Specialty Pharmacy, for instance, patients with unique, complicated medical conditions have a resource for getting the specialized medications they need.  The specialty service focuses on medications for such serious and chronic diseases as cancer, asthma, hepatitis and others, which often require long-term, costly treatment. Help with arranging for financial assistance also is available.

Dermatology drugmaker Verrica Pharmaceuticals bolstered the distribution network for its recently launched molluscum brand, inking an agreement with Walgreens specialty pharmacies. Walgreens joins the distribution effort alongside Verrica’s existing specialty pharmacy, which has been working to build awareness of the new drug, Ycanth, among high-volume dermatology and pediatric medical practices.