International Courant
An individual drives previous a Walgreens truck, owned by the Walgreens Boots Alliance, in Manhattan, New York Metropolis on November 26, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Wal greens stated Thursday it should work immediately with drugmakers to convey cell and gene therapies to U.S. sufferers as a part of a broader growth of its specialty pharmacy providers.
The corporate stated it’s launching a brand new enterprise unit devoted to its specialty pharmacy phase, which will even embrace a specialty pharmacy subsidiary AllianceRx. The unit will fall below the core US retail pharmacy division. Within the meantime, Shields well being optionsa subsidiary that helps specialty pharmacies owned by the well being care system will stay a part of Walgreens’ U.S. well being care division.
Specialty pharmacies have develop into a significant participant within the American healthcare system, particularly on the subject of persistent illnesses develop into extra widespread.
Specialty pharmacies supply drugs that require excessive care in dealing with, storing and distributing. The therapies are sometimes supposed for sufferers with persistent, uncommon or complicated circumstances akin to most cancers, Crohn’s illness and HIV. Specialist pharmacies additionally supply recommendation or monetary help to help sufferers present process these costly therapies.
Among the many firm’s new investments to “rework” its specialty pharmacy providers, it should open a brand new licensed facility in Pittsburgh devoted to cell and gene remedy providers. The 18,000-square-foot middle will, amongst different issues, assist drug producers and healthcare suppliers navigate the complicated provide chain for these therapies and handle affected person wants.
Andrew Brookes | Picture supply | Getty Pictures
Walgreens’ resolution to launch cell and gene remedy providers comes after a pointy enhance in approvals of those medicine within the U.S. and European Union over the previous yr. They’re one-off, costly therapies that focus on a affected person’s genetic supply or cell to remedy or considerably alter the course of a illness. Some well being consultants count on cell and gene therapies to switch the normal lifelong therapies folks use to handle persistent illnesses.
The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration accepted seven cell and gene therapies final yr, together with the primary gene therapies to deal with sickle cell illness. That market is just anticipated to develop: the FDA has accomplished simply that predicted that it’ll evaluation and approve between ten and twenty cell and gene therapies yearly by 2025.
Walgreens stated its newly launched enterprise unit is the most important unbiased supplier of specialty pharmacy providers, with roughly $24 billion in income from the phase. Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy doesn’t work with a pharmacy advantages supervisor, the corporate famous.
That provides the corporate “the flexibleness to dynamically contract with any payer,” Walgreens Chief Pharmacy Officer Rick Gates stated within the launch. “We are able to work immediately with pharmaceutical producers to convey merchandise to market, together with drugs with restricted distribution, and work intently with suppliers to make sure sufferers expertise a clean begin to therapy.”
Below the brand new unit, sufferers of AllianceRx and the corporate’s practically 300 neighborhood pharmacies will now have entry to sources that “will construct on the skilled care they already obtain from their specialty pharmacist,” Walgreens stated within the launch. This contains docs with necessary illness experience, nutritionists and nurses.
The corporate stated its community-based specialty pharmacies are positioned close to medical workplace buildings and well being care programs and supply specialty drugs “quicker than the business common,” together with providers akin to injection coaching and aspect impact administration.
Walgreens stated it has greater than 1,500 specialty pharmacists, 5,000 affected person advocacy help crew members and an unspecified variety of devoted specialty pharmacy groups.
The corporate additionally gives greater than 1,300 specialty drugs, together with 240 restricted distribution drugs that few specialty pharmacies have entry to.
