Monthly Archives: September 2012

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.

‘Good Leadership’ll Change Nigeria in 6 Months’

Former Minister of Health and Chairman Juli Pharmacy Plc, Prince Julius Adeluyi, has declared that Nigeria can turn around in six months, if only it has a good leadership, governance, and transparent structure in place.

Adeluyi was the guest speaker at the 2011 seminar and luncheon of the Professional Practice Group (PPG) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) tagged: ‘A Roadmap to Enhance the Professional Business Environment: Best Practice’.

He said Nigeria was not faced with the issue of poverty alone but added that that there also exists a poverty of leadership and ideas.

In his words, “Nigeria does not have any business being poor because Nigeria naturally is not poor. All this can turn around in 6 months if we have good leadership. There is a poverty of leadership which we must address. The biggest problem we have in this country has to do with governance; the quality of governance at every level must be addressed.”

According to him, 80 per cent of all the money is in the hands of one per cent of the people, urging the chamber to press for good and transparent governance through an authoritative democracy. “If this is in place and we have good people to implement them, Nigeria will change in six months and this poverty will disappear,” he said.

“I will say there is a displaced priority. Until we have good leadership, governance, transparency and integrity driving the system corruption will continue, and when there is corruption progress is excluded,” he added.

He pointed out that it was difficult to preach ethics in Nigeria due to poverty, adding that the challenges were too many to be unethical.

In his words, “There are lots of people talking about ethics today that do not even practice it. Sometimes it is almost a crime to be ethical in a non-ethical setting. This is where the chamber of commerce must come out and say they are celebrating not because of their bottom line but showing people that even in this harsh operating environment business can still be done ethically.

“We must never give up. The Chamber, after it has strengthened itself, must make sure that it continues to do advocacy. If this chamber must change, it must select and utilise the younger generation and also partner with similar chamber formations. If you team up, you will have a good network and then you will have a good net worth such that if your name is mentioned in any particular forum what you will get is response and respect,” he said.

The President, LCCI, Otunba Femi Deru, said the theme of the seminar was significant to the declining ethical standards in the corporate world. He said best practices should be promoted and practiced by professionals in the country because it was the only way to curb unwholesome practices in the business community and the economy at large.

The Chairperson, PPG, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, said the seminar was another opportunity to bring into focus important issues affecting the professionals and the economy.

She said, as part of the group’s contribution to the development of the professional practice, it was organising interactive sessions such as this seminar to address topical issues affecting the sector and the economy as a whole, while proffering solutions to the problems confronting operators within the sector.

She added that the group was one of the active and vibrant organs of the chamber, focusing on the impact of professional practice on the economy.

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.

WellPoint Wants To See Express Scripts, Walgreen Mend Rift

Health-insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP) is hoping pharmacy-benefit manager and business partner Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) can mend fences with drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG), and still sees a chance for resolution, a WellPoint executive said Tuesday.

Express Scripts, which handles prescription-drug benefits and claims for employers and health-insurer clients, signed a 10-year deal to serve WellPoint in December 2009. Express Scripts’ customers could lose access to thousands of U.S. pharmacies starting next year because it hasn’t been able to resolve differences over a new contract with Walgreen to replace one that expires at year end.

Though the public dispute has indicated broad differences, “I would not say we’re at the point of no return,” said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint’s chief financial officer, during a Morgan Stanley health-care conference.

“We’ve talked to both parties,” he said. “We want to see them settle their dispute.”

DeVeydt noted that WellPoint would like Walgreen to remain in Express Scripts’ network, but also said the insurer can live without Walgreen there, and that the key is getting WellPoint members the best available price. Walgreen has suggested losing access could hurt Express Scripts’ customer relationships, while Express Scripts has countered that it won’t run afoul of access provisions in its contracts and that its customers will have convenient access to other drugstores.

DeVeydt said WellPoint doesn’t see a business impact from the dispute, and that there are “other alternatives available to the customers.”

“Express Scripts is doing very much what we do with hospitals and providers, which is they are trying to get the best rate possible for the consumer,” DeVeydt said. “At the same time, we understand what Walgreens is trying to do as well.”

Express Scripts and Walgreen have offered different views of sticking points in their talks; the drugstore has said its costs are in line with other retail pharmacies, for example, but Express Scripts has said Walgreen would be the highest-cost pharmacy in its network under proposed rates.

Walgreen said last week that talks between the two sides “remain at an impasse” and that it has started informing patients it won’t be part of Express Scripts’ network starting next year. Express Scripts also has been preparing clients and members for the change.

Amid this dispute, Express Scripts plans to acquire rival benefit-manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) in a deal that would create a clear industry heavyweight, and was valued at $29.1 billion when first announced in July. The drugstore industry has strongly opposed the deal.

As for the Walgreen talks, “our goal is to really focus that our consumers don’t get hurt in the negotiations,” WellPoint’s DeVeydt said.

The insurers’ shares recently traded up 3.9% to $65.87, following a sectorwide upswing fueled by comments from rival Aetna Inc. (AET), which said its full-year earnings view has improved based on signs that health-care usage trends have remained weak in the current quarter. WellPoint, meantime, confirmed its 2011 earnings estimate in a regulatory filing late Monday.

Mississippi Pharmacy Recognized on Inc. 5000 List

Transcript Pharmacy lands on the Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest Growing Privately Owned Businesses in America for the fourth year in a row and is ranked 116 in the health industry.

“We are blessed to be trusted by so many health care professionals and so many patients who, month after month, give us the opportunity to serve their needs,” said Cliff Osbon, president of Transcript Pharmacy. “We are successful only because of the trust others place in us, which we believe we have to earn with excellent service.”

Osbon says the Jackson-based pharmacy’s high-touch patient model focuses on giving patients, nurses and doctors nationwide direct access to their staff – they can actually talk to someone on the phone when they call; they don’t have to work with a complicated phone system.

“Our personalized service feels like a ‘mom and pop’ drugstore of years past, while being supported by a high-tech, behind-the-scenes software system which guarantees the best service possible,” said Osbon.

Osbon says maintaining personal relationships with both patients and clinic staff is Transcript’s key to success. Patient intake coordinators say the nurses they work with tell them that Transcript helps save them 45 minutes to an hour when getting prescriptions for their patients.

“One of our nurses in Memphis says her patients tell her they are impressed with the personal service and care they receive from Transcript,” said LaDanna Goodloe, a Transcript patient intake coordinator. “She says they never hear complaints and that everyone at Transcript really cares about each and every patient.”

Rosie DeHart, also a patient intake coordinator, says it is rewarding to hear satisfaction from nurses who work directly with patients.

“A nurse in Dayton, Ohio, told us that they have worked with a lot of specialty pharmacies, but they’ve never experienced this type of ‘grade A’ service from any other pharmacy,” said DeHart. “She said Transcript really knows how to treat people; from clients to patients, catering to people is definitely a priority.”

This high-touch patient model is the same for offices and patients across the country. Transcript’s consistency has garnered positive feedback from health care professionals nationwide.

“Another nurse I work with in Little Rock says that Transcript Pharmacy provides exceptional customer service,” said DeHart. “She says we have a friendly, dedicated staff that truly puts the patient first and that Transcript is her specialty pharmacy of choice.”

Osbon says his staff cares about the end result for the patient and strives to see better health outcomes.

“Our patient care service model results in better adherence to prescribed treatment regimens, which translates into better outcomes and lower overall health care costs, in many cases,” said Osbon.

In fact, a yearlong study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has shown that through personalized communication with each patient, Transcript has improved compliance. Better compliance leads to fewer doctor and hospital visits, which can significantly reduce medical costs for patients.

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.

Prescription Solutions by OptumRx Receives 4th Consecutive TIPPSSM Certification for Pharmacy Benefits Transparency Standards

Prescription Solutions by OptumRx, a leading pharmacy benefit management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, announced it has received certification for the fourth consecutive year from the HR Policy Association (HR Policy) Pharmaceutical Coalition. The certification is part of HR Policy’s Transparency in Pharmaceutical Purchasing Solutions (TIPPS)SM initiative.

“TIPPS certification is an important contributor to our reputation as an industry leader. Every day we strive to show our commitment to our clients, and one element of that commitment is to be open and honest about our pricing structure.”

Prescription Solutions is one of five PBMs that provide Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) pricing for mail order medications. The WAC is a nationally tracked index that closely reflects drug pricing dynamics.

“We want our clients to fully understand our pricing structure, as well as the overall value of their health benefits. This enables clients to provide cost control for their companies and employees,” said Ed Feaver, Pharm.D, president of OptumRx. “TIPPS certification is an important contributor to our reputation as an industry leader. Every day we strive to show our commitment to our clients, and one element of that commitment is to be open and honest about our pricing structure.”

TIPPS standards endorse contracting that enables employers – as well as their beneficiaries and dependents – to better understand the exact price of a medication. The standards were created to ensure that PBMs encourage the use of the most clinically sound and cost-effective medications available.

The HR Policy Association Pharmaceutical Coalition encompasses close to 60 association member companies and represents more than 5 million Americans. TIPPS certification allows Prescription Solutions to offer PBM services to members of the coalition.

About HR Policy Association
HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of more than 325 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than ten million employees in the United States, nearly nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide. They have a combined market capitalization of more than $7.5 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession.

Japanese team visits GITAM

A team of economics professors from Japan visited GITAM University here on Monday, as part of its study of India-Japan trade relations particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.

The team headed by a professor of Japan External Trade Organisation and Institute of Developing Economics Kensuke Kubo and professors of Kobe University’s Economics and Business Administration Research Institute Takahiro Sato and Ryukoku University’s Department of Economics Atsuko Kamiike interacted with GITAM University Vice-Chancellor G. Subramanyam.

Prof. Kensuke Kubo said Indian companies were among top in world in the pharmaceutical industry and some Japanese companies established their pharma plants in India. Japanese companies developed new medicines for diseases such as TB.

He said that Japan was interested in strengthen the relations with academic institutions such as GITAM.

Prof. Sato said there were huge business opportunities in the area of generic drug production. The recent India-Japan comprehensive economic partnership agreement was one of the largest agreements in the history of Japan and appreciated GITAM University for entering into an MoU with Japan-based Esai Pharmaceuticals.

It was for the first time that the team was hearing about university-industry partnerships, said Prof. Atsuko. GITAM was the only Indian university having an academic collaboration with a Japan company, she said.

Prof. Subramanyam explained the university’s association with reputed academic institutions and industries and the research work being done by the faculty.

Pro Vice-Chancellor D. Harinarayana, Registrar M. Potharaju, Institute of Pharmacy principal P. Suresh, Institute of Science principal N. Lakshmanadas and Prof. P.K. Sarma participated in the interactive session.

Pharmacists seek cure to drug delays from Pfizer

Canberra pharmacists say their customers are being forced to wait more than four days for some medicines because of a ”direct distribution” system adopted by drug company Pfizer earlier this year.

Drug wholesalers and some pharmacists want the Federal Government to intervene to ensure patients are able to access Pfizer medicines prescribed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme within 24 hours of orders being placed.

But Pfizer denied it was unable to deliver medicines on time and said it met 99per cent of orders by the next business day.

Ninety per cent of pharmacists who responded to a survey commissioned by the wholesale drug industry body, the Pharmaceutical Services Association, said they had experienced a deterioration in the timely and reliable supply of medicines since Pfizer began distributing its own products to pharmacies in February.

Medicines from other companies are distributed by wholesalers who receive government subsidies and are required to supply pharmacies within 24 hours of an order being placed.

Canberra pharmacist Chris Lawler yesterday said refrigerated Pfizer medicines ordered after 3pm on a Thursday could now take until the following Tuesday to arrive.

Mr Lawler, who works in several city pharmacies, said on several occasions the delays had forced him to drive to pharmacies in other parts of Canberra to collect medicines for vulnerable customers.

”You tell the patient you can’t use your injection or you can’t take your injection until sometime next Tuesday when I get it,” he said.

”In the past I’ve had to take a customer’s script, ask them for permission to get it dispensed at another pharmacy … I’ll drive to another pharmacy in another suburb to get it filled for them.”

Mr Lawler said pharmacies routinely borrowed medicines from each other when supplies were running low but this was becoming increasingly difficult when they all had low stocks of Pfizer products.

He was among a group of pharmacists and representatives of the Pharmaceutical Services Association who met staff of the Prime Minister’s Office and Leader of the Opposition’s Office to discuss the issue yesterday.

WellPoint Wants To See Express Scripts, Walgreen Mend Rift

Health-insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP) is hoping pharmacy-benefit manager and business partner Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) can mend fences with drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG), and still sees a chance for resolution, a WellPoint executive said Tuesday.

Express Scripts, which handles prescription-drug benefits and claims for employers and health-insurer clients, signed a 10-year deal to serve WellPoint in December 2009. Express Scripts’ customers could lose access to thousands of U.S. pharmacies starting next year because it hasn’t been able to resolve differences over a new contract with Walgreen to replace one that expires at year end.

Though the public dispute has indicated broad differences, “I would not say we’re at the point of no return,” said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint’s chief financial officer, during a Morgan Stanley health-care conference.

“We’ve talked to both parties,” he said. “We want to see them settle their dispute.”

DeVeydt noted that WellPoint would like Walgreen to remain in Express Scripts’ network, but also said the insurer can live without Walgreen there, and that the key is getting WellPoint members the best available price. Walgreen has suggested losing access could hurt Express Scripts’ customer relationships, while Express Scripts has countered that it won’t run afoul of access provisions in its contracts and that its customers will have convenient access to other drugstores.

DeVeydt said WellPoint doesn’t see a business impact from the dispute, and that there are “other alternatives available to the customers.”

“Express Scripts is doing very much what we do with hospitals and providers, which is they are trying to get the best rate possible for the consumer,” DeVeydt said. “At the same time, we understand what Walgreens is trying to do as well.”

Express Scripts and Walgreen have offered different views of sticking points in their talks; the drugstore has said its costs are in line with other retail pharmacies, for example, but Express Scripts has said Walgreen would be the highest-cost pharmacy in its network under proposed rates.

Walgreen said last week that talks between the two sides “remain at an impasse” and that it has started informing patients it won’t be part of Express Scripts’ network starting next year. Express Scripts also has been preparing clients and members for the change.

Amid this dispute, Express Scripts plans to acquire rival benefit-manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) in a deal that would create a clear industry heavyweight, and was valued at $29.1 billion when first announced in July. The drugstore industry has strongly opposed the deal.

As for the Walgreen talks, “our goal is to really focus that our consumers don’t get hurt in the negotiations,” WellPoint’s DeVeydt said.

The insurers’ shares recently traded up 3.9% to $65.87, following a sectorwide upswing fueled by comments from rival Aetna Inc. (AET), which said its full-year earnings view has improved based on signs that health-care usage trends have remained weak in the current quarter. WellPoint, meantime, confirmed its 2011 earnings estimate in a regulatory filing late Monday.

Restore Health Wins Biotech Industry Award for Innovative Personalized Healthcare Platform

Restore Health, a Madison-based personalized healthcare company, was one of six Wisconsin-based bioscience companies selected as winners of the 2011 BioForward Emerging Company Showcase, the bioscience industry association announced this week.

A vertically integrated custom pharmaceutical compounding pharmacy and diagnostic laboratory, Restore Health was lauded for Restore Direct, an innovative web-based platform offering patients and health care providers easy-to-use access to lab results, patient medical records, clinical services, and secure e-prescription tools.

“Our mission is to improve the health and wellness of men and women around the world by providing patients and health care providers with innovative tools to access our industry’s leading custom pharmaceutical compounding pharmacy and diagnostic laboratory,” said Restore Health CEO Matt Wanderer. “Restore Direct is the first solution to provide diagnostic laboratory services, custom compounded prescriptions and clinical support services in one platform—it revolutionizes personalized medicine,” he said.

The Emerging Company Showcase is part of the 2011 Bioscience Vision Summit, held last Thursday, September 8th, at the Madison Marriott West in Madison, Wis. and hosted by BioForward, the member-driven state association that is the voice of Wisconsin’s bioscience industry. The Emerging Company Showcase is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Corporate Relations, WARF, and Exact Sciences.

About Restore Health

The first pharmacy in America to specialize in women’s health and bioidentical hormone replacement therapies and the leader in personalized health care, Restore Health is the first provider to deliver real-time vertical integration of advanced bio-diagnostic laboratory services, custom pharmaceutical solutions, and expert clinical support services, providing a complete solution for doctors and patients seeking managed, standard-of-care hormone replacement therapies and other personalized healthcare solutions.

About BioForward

BioForward is a member-driven state association that is the voice of Wisconsin’s bioscience industry, advocating on members’ behalf to create investment and partnership opportunities, attract and retain the very best people, and support public policy that fosters their continued growth. BioForward provides member-support services that include networking opportunities through a variety of conferences and events, online resources and group purchasing programs. Members include bioscience companies, universities, non-profits, service providers, and state, regional and local government representatives.

Congress hearing pressures Medco, Express Scripts

Shares of pharmacy benefits managers Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc., which are seeking regulatory approval to combine, fell Friday as a congressional committee held a hearing to discuss consolidation in the health care industry.

The hearing was called by the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Chairman Wally Herger, R-Calif., acknowledged that consolidation in health care is not new, but it appears to be increasing, and expressed concern about that trend.

“I recognize that, at least in theory, consolidation can lead to greater efficiencies and improved outcomes. Unfortunately, research has shown that higher prices are more often the result,” he said in a statement.

Herger did not mention Express Scripts and Medco, but regulators are reviewing Express Scripts’ agreement to buy Medco. Several elected officials have said it deserves close scrutiny and congressional hearings. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said the Federal Trade Commission should block the $29.1 billion deal. Express Scripts and Medco said Tuesday that the FTC has asked them for more information about the proposed deal, although they said that request was expected.

If Express Scripts buys Medco, the resulting company will be by far the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S. Express Scripts says the deal would make the health care system more efficient and that it won’t significantly reduce competition. Pharmacy benefits managers manage prescription drug benefits, and they make their money by reducing expenses for plan sponsors and members. The larger Express Scripts would be able to use its size to negotiate lower drug prices.

But critics say that the company would eliminate choices. Pharmacist groups have spoken out against the deal, saying it will reduce access to independent pharmacies and drive up costs. In a statement released Friday, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores said the three largest pharmacy benefit managers — Express Scripts, Medco, and CVS Caremark — handle between 50 and 60 percent of all prescriptions, and if Express Scripts and Medco combine, they would handle about a third of all U.S. prescriptions.

The group said that PBMs do not save money for health plans or plan members.

In a note to clients published last week, Cowen & Co. analyst Charles Rhyee said he believes regulators will allow Express Scripts to buy Medco. He said the deal will ultimately save money for consumers and employers, especially large employers. The FTC might hesitate to approve a deal that would reduce the number of independent PBMs to two from three, but competition in the industry has increased in recent years, and that could ease the FTC’s concerns, he said.

‘India to emerge as global innovative hub of pharma’

President Pratibha Patil on Sunday said that the country had a potential to emerge as one of the top five innovative hubs in the global pharmaceutical sector, contributing 50 per cent to the drugs discovered worldwide. She complimented the domestic pharma industry for showing the world a way in affordable healthcare through development of generic drugs.

The President inaugurated the 71st World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences that kicked-off in Hyderabad on Sunday. Organised by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (IPF), the four-day event with the theme ’Compromising quality and safety – A risky path’, saw the participation of 2,000 delegates from 88 countries.

While lauding the contributions made by pharmacy scientists world over for their efforts in finding remedies to eliminate the mankind’s suffering from diseases, the President, however, cautioned on the risks involved in this area.

“It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of all the medicine worldwide are prescribed, dispensed or old inappropriately. About 50 per cent of patients fail to take them correctly. This results in health complications,” she said in her address.

Aware of enormity of the task of ensuring the safe and judicious use of medicines, the Centre has initiated a National Pharmacovigilance Programme in July 2010 to monitor the adverse drug reactions of medicines on Indian population, she said.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has a wide range of capabilities and is already contributing a substantial share to the global production. “Our pharmaceutical products are known to be of good quality, safety and efficacy. Indian generic drugs have helped in bringing down the cost of treatment of various diseases worldwide, which include HIV/AIDS,” the President said.

Patil also stressed on the need to respond to the emerging patterns of diseases, and to growing concerns about disease-causing agents becoming resistant to existing drugs. With its proven IT sector, demonstrated leadership in biotechnology, a vast pool of trained personnel and cost advantages, India can emerge as a significant player in global pharmaceutical research, she said.

The President wanted the industry to be self-vigilant about unscrupulous elements that compromise on quality and safety of drugs, to complement the governmental efforts to check such practices.

Joint initiative on tuberculosis

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the IPF signed a joint statement on the role of pharmacists in tuberculosis care and control at the Congress today. The statement establishes a series of measures to help detect TB, offer treatment support to TB patients, and substantially reduce the number of deaths from TB.