Walgreens Looking To Make a Significant Impact in Specialty Pharmacy Market

A little more than a month after there was talk of Walgreens divesting its specialty pharmacy unit Shields Health Solutions, the company announced plans to expand its specialty pharmacy services with a unit dedicated to gene and cell therapy services.

Walgreens is implementing a $1 billion cost-cutting initiative, while planning to grow in specialty pharmacy and value-based care.

Walgreens plans to expand its specialty pharmacy services and invest 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 that will help manage the high costs and delivery of new cell and gene therapies.

The new Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy business will replace the company’s existing specialty pharmacy offering, AllianceRx, effective August 1, 2024. Walgreens expects its new specialty pharmacy unit to be the largest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services, generating approximately $24 billion in annual revenue.

Walgreens is expanding its specialty pharmacy business to compete in an increasingly competitive pharmacy benefits manager and specialty pharmacy space still controlled by the Big 3: CVS Specialty/CVS Health, Accredo/Cigna Evernorth Express Scripts, and Optum Specialty Pharmacy/UHG/OptumRx.

Walgreens plans to leverage its strong company assets as Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy has more than 1,500 specialty-trained pharmacists, 5,000 patient advocacy support team members and ten dedicated Specialty360 teams that support all specialty conditions and therapies. Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy will be able to offer:

• 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.