Pharmacy Industry News: Restore Health Wins Biotech Industry Award for Innovative Personalized Healthcare Platform
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.