Analysis

In a previous exclusive analysis (In 2016, 85% of Medicare Part D plans have a preferred pharmacy network), I highlighted the plans whose preferred pharmacy networks will dominate next year’s Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDP).

Today, I examine retail chains in the biggest Part D networks. Walmart and Walgreens lead the pack in preferred network participation. CVS remains conservative, while Rite Aid has opted out. In most plans, independents feature prominently as preferred pharmacy options.

Preferred networks are crucial for understanding drug channel economics. Pharmacies compete to be in these networks, so the cost savings come from lower pharmacy profits. And Medicare Part D accounts for more than one-quarter of the outpatient prescription market. Read on for our exclusive, Evil Dead inspired look at 2016’s preferred network participants.

CBI’s 6th Hub and SPP Model Optimization
February 23-24, 2016 | Philadelphia, PA
www.cbinet.com/hubs

CBI’s Hub and SPP Model Optimization Summit has earned strong acclaim from hundreds of biopharma manufacturers for its focus on cutting-edge content and next generation issues impacting HUB model design, streamlined patient access and specialty pharmacy network strategy. Benefit from expert insights from all key stakeholders including manufacturers, specialty pharmacies, hubs, payers, PBMs, physicians and hear robust discussion around the most pressing topics related to hub and SPP model optimization.

Stakeholders providing expert insight include representatives from ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Biologics, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Churchill Pharmaceuticals, CoverMyMeds, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Independent Health, Geisinger Health Plan, Grifols, Incyte Corporation, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Intarcia Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Lash Group, a part of AmerisourceBergen, Omnicare Specialty Care Group, PANTHERx Specialty Pharmacy, Practice Accreditation®, ProMetrics, Raptor Pharmaceuticals, Therigy, Triplefin, Turing Pharmaceuticals, UBC, URAC, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals and VirMedica.

Don’t miss this timely meeting as you prepare to launch, transition or reboot your corporate or product approach to hub services.

For more information, please download the complete agenda or visit www.cbinet.com/hubs. Drug Channels readers will save $400 off of the standard registration rate when they use code JSH345.*

*Cannot be combined with other offers or used towards a current registration. Cannot be combined with special category rates. Other restrictions may apply.

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

Given last week’s big news, I had to skip my usual monthly news roundup. This selection may be a bit tardy, but the articles are certified fresh:

• A revealing interview with Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina

• The CEO and CFO of Diplomat Pharmacy both defend the specialty pharmacy industry with clarity and wit

• CVS Health argues for pharmacy-health system partnerships

Plus, Aetna allows newlyweds to register for medical procedures. Now, that’s disruptive innovation!

P.S. For timely updates on stuff that I find cool and interesting, follow @DrugChannels on Twitter.

Late last week, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) filed an 8-K with the full text of its merger agreement with Rite Aid. Click here to read it.

The document containing the Agreement and Plan of Merger weighs in at a hefty 137 pages. Below, I highlight four fun facts about the deal’s timing, its termination fees, and what the companies will do to achieve antitrust approval.

WBA also released a new slide deck summarizing a bit more about its strategic rationale for the deal. Excerpt below.

For background on the merger, please see our Walgreens-Rite Aid Deal: Ten Things You Should Know. But you've already read that article, right?

eyeforpharma Real World Evidence & Market Access Summit 2015
December 3-4, 2015 | Philadelphia, PA
www.eyeforpharma.com/rwe/


You know it and have read it here before: pharma leaders in data, HEOR, and market access need to come together to collaborate with health systems and physician leaders.

The 4th annual Real World Evidence & Market Access Summit on December 3-4 will be big pharma’s last opportunity to shape the evidence strategy for 2016 – and the only one with all stakeholders present.

Here’s why the event is a must-attend:

1. Payer/provider panel discussions: Talk risk-based contracting and discover directly how access and formulary decisions are evolving from the customer point of view. Hear from Jerrold Penso, Chief Medical & Quality Officer, AMGA and Steve Chick, Vice President, Comprehensive Health Insights, Humana
2. 15+ major health systems: Explore new opportunities for data and evidence collaboration and meet directly with health systems. Engage with change-makers such as Eric Newman, Chief of Specialty Care Innovation & Integration, Geisinger
3. 1 event, 5 tailor-made tracks: Choose from a menu of opportunities – plan each day around the insights that matter most to you (real world analytics, HEOR, market access, organizer customer groups and data partnerships)

Attendees learn as much from the world-class speaking faculty as they learn from their peers. Recent registrants include:

1. Clément François, Vice President, HEOR, US Lundbeck
2. Faisal Mehmud, Vice President, Medical Affairs, Novartis Oncology
3. John Hernandez, Global Vice President, HEOR, Abbott
4. Garret Ingram, Vice President, Head of US Market Access, Sanofi
5. David Tomala, Senior Director, Advanced Analytics, Express-Scripts
6. Mark Weiner, Chief Medical Information Officer, Temple University Health System

We’ve already confirmed dozens senior participants from: Novartis / Otsuka/ Janssen Pharmaceuticals/ Hoffmann-La Roche/ UCB/ Bayer/ Novo Nordisk/ Daiichi Sankyo/ Genentech/ AbbVie/ Millennium / DSI/ Takeda/ Oracle / J&J/ Mount Sinai/ Geisinger/ Pfizer/ EMD Serono/ Shire / SAS/ Eisai…

For those who like to stay ahead of the curve in showing drug value, this is a must-attend.

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

Wow. Walgreens Boots Alliance is acquiring Rite Aid. As I told The New York Times: “The pharmacy consolidation endgame has begun.”

Read on for my analysis of the deal and what it means.

Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments below. (Yes, you can comment anonymously.)

Yesterday, Valeant Pharmaceuticals finally explained its complex interactions with Philidor RX Services, a so-called “specialty pharmacy” that has a previously-undisclosed financial relationship with Valeant. Click here to see the full 89-slide webcast deck. Valeant has been labeled the “Enron of the pharmaceutical industry,” although I don’t know if any of the alleged shenanigans are true.

Unfortunately, the controversy has tarred the entire specialty pharmacy industry along with manufacturers’ legitimate specialty pharmacy relationships. Below, I explain why Philidor RX is not a specialty pharmacy. I also suggest what the Valeant-Philidor relationship could mean for payer surveillance of manufacturers’ copay offset programs.

I believe (hope?) that over time, everyone will recognize the differences between a true specialty pharmacy and a company such as Philidor. Meanwhile, expect greater scrutiny of manufacturers’ specialty channel strategies. Smaller independent specialty pharmacies should also expect greater oversight, as manufacturers and payers work to validate the business operations of their trading partners.

eyeforpharma Customer Engagement USA Summit 2015
November 19-20, 2015 | Philadelphia, PA
www.eyeforpharma.com/customer-engagement/

At eyeforpharma’s 3rd annual Customer Engagement Summit, attendees will learn how to engage their key customers through a wide range of channels - from digital to F2F. The speaker faculty selected from both inside and outside the industry will focus on truly intelligent engagement strategies that start with the customer and end with the channel.

Drug Channels readers will save $300 off the standard registration rate when they register with discount code 2772DC300.

Speakers include:

• Jim De Lash, Director Multi-Channel Marketing Execution, GlaxoSmithKline
• Tom Wagner, Leader, Global Digital Governance, AstraZeneca
• Jorge Herrera, LatAm Head of Digital, Pfizer
• Sandra Velez, Content Strategy Leader, Customer Engagement COE, Merck
• John Kane, Director of Commercial Training & Leadership Development, Eisai
• Laurent Flouret, Director Digital Launch Readiness, Sanofi
• Andrew Schwartz, Director NA IT Strategy & Ops, Ipsen
• Greg Cohen, Global Associate Director, Multichannel Marketing, UCB
• Rachel Sosalski, Director, Pharmacy Marketing, GlaxoSmithKline

Download the brochure now to find out who else is on the agenda.

Use discount code 2772DC300 to save $300. Register today!

The Customer Engagement USA 2015 Summit is designed for those who:

• Want to develop global capabilities and have the vision of creating streamlined marketing processes as well as channel integration
• Appreciate marketing innovation and understand or desire to understand how data can help achieve multichannel marketing efficiency
• Believe we can do better at understanding and engaging with our customers to provide the information they need
• Are inspired to think outside the box, work across job functions and look to achieve beyond just ROI

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

Today’s guest post comes from Leon Greene, Cofounder and Executive Vice President at Truveris. Leon discusses “the Cadillac tax,” a federal tax employers will pay on higher priced employee health benefit plans. The tax is scheduled to go into effect in 2018.

Leon offers three concrete actions that could lessen the effect of the Cadillac tax:

• Use available technologies to research your vendors’ economics
• Offer your employees digital tools such as OneRx to help them identify the potential cost savings of coupons or paying cash for their prescriptions
• Educate your employees on their health insurance options and promote wellness programs to workers

Read on and see if you agree.

Since pharmaceutical pricing is in the news, let’s take a look at how pharmaceutical wholesalers benefit from inflation in brand-name drugs.

Growing drug prices are boosting wholesalers’ top-line revenues. We estimate that in the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, U.S. drug distribution revenues at the Big Three public wholesalers—AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson—reached a record $353 billion.

And as I explain in the excerpt below from our new 2015-16 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors, wholesalers also generate substantial gross profits as prices increase. Their agreements with manufacturer and negotiations with customers, however, reduce wholesalers’ ability to retain the full benefit.

P.S. Friendly reminder: Special discount pricing on our new report ends this Saturday!