PHARMACY MARKET, PHARMA TECH
GoodRx | October 21, 2022
To circumvent overpriced prescription drugs and grow its robust pharmacy services platform, GoodRx finalized its vitaCare acquisition. Based on a transaction that started in the first quarter of 2022, GoodRx agreed to secure vitaCare for $150 million in cash. Based on vitaCare’s financial performance through 2023, an additional $7 million consideration is also possible. A report cited by Globe Newswire showed that the global pharmacy market size has a forecasted value of $1,627.74 billion by 2030. Pharmaceutical platforms, with accessible clinical programs and digital adoptions, have a positive impact on today’s healthcare system, with vitaCare as one of the promising brands.
vitaCare, a healthcare service platform, offers cost-effective solutions to patients. More precisely, the platform helps individuals navigate insurance coverage and its optimized benefits to attain lower-priced medications. Rising investments in pharmacy services have sparked interest in vitaCare, including that of GoodRx.
The acquisition of vitaCare is in line with GoodRx’s mission, though. Co-CEO Doug Hirsch states that the company seeks to relieve the financial burden that comes with securing medication. Pharma manufacturers have constantly observed barriers to proper patient care, especially for affordable medicine and complicated reimbursement processes. With vitaCare at the helm, new tools are utilized to ensure more patients are linked to relevant savings programs and transparent pricing information. Hirsch hopes that the acquisition will facilitate a smoother brand prescription process overall. Profit-wise, GoodRx predicts the deal will contribute under 1% of its total revenue in 2022, though there is no substantial long-term discern.
This acquisition is the latest in GoodRx’s commitment to delivering consumer-focused healthcare services. The company has a history of connecting individuals to accessible, research-based health information. One of the most notable ones is its partnership with Wheel in 2021, which generated better outcomes for patient care.
Telemedicine software provider Wheel offers flexible clinical services to a broad patient base. Wheel’s platform equips clinics with the capability of synchronous and asynchronous consults. It utilizes network virtualization to create a seamless experience for healthcare providers and patients. Our post ‘Network Virtualization: The Future of Businesses and Networks’ previously discussed how virtualization empowers a software’s scalability — and this certainly manifests in Wheel’s platform. Providers can choose from a range of services that enhance patient care. One of the services is ePrescription medications, which remotely administers prescriptions.
Following the integration of GoodRx’s technology into Wheel’s platform, health providers and patients alike can meet reduced costs of care. As it stands, GoodRx’s coupon price API operates with over 200 billion pricing data points daily. Consumers use these to identify lower-priced medications. With the integration, Wheel-mobilized clinics can offer their patients a GoodRx coupon. GoodRx can also adapt its services to remote healthcare activities through the partnership. After all, GoodRx is essentially a marketplace.
Ultimately, GoodRx champions solutions that provide consumers with affordable healthcare access and medication. With vitaCare among its ranks today, the company can focus on promoting better patient adherence to treatment plans.
Read More
PHARMACY MARKET
Prescryptive Health | September 29, 2021
Healthcare technology company Prescryptive Health today announced a turn-key solution for pharmacists to treat COVID-19 through monoclonal antibody administration. This new program builds on the company's work with community pharmacists on COVID-19 testing and vaccine services and supports the National Community Pharmacists Association's effort to prepare pharmacists to provide this treatment.
As in all our COVID-19 solutions, we are empowering pharmacists to help end this pandemic, through identifying, reporting, preventing, and now treating this virus, More than 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, and pharmacists have proven again and again how essential they are in their communities.
- Chris Blackley, Prescryptive Health's CEO
The solution is truly turn-key, allowing pharmacists to get trained and provide COVID-19 treatment to their communities quickly. As this public health crisis continues, pharmacists can support their communities in new ways through this program.
- Michele Belcher, incoming NCPA president and pharmacist at Grants Pass Pharmacy in Oregon
Prescryptive Health's robust, one-hour ACPE-accredited continuing education training for COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment is free for pharmacists nationwide. NCPA supports the continuing education program built by Prescryptive. In combination with the NCPA resources, pharmacists have the tools necessary to prepare administering this clinical service.
The innovative program also includes a clinical protocol developed by subject matter experts and leading regulators; policies and procedures to help pharmacies operationalize the service; guidance on accessing inventory as it becomes available; and billing services, through Prescryptive's partnership with AssureCare®. This program will debut in Oregon, with additional locations added across the nation in the coming weeks.
Belcher and Paige Clark, VP of Programs and Policy at Prescryptive Health, will present at the NCPA conference in October on the COVID-19 treatment program, showing how pharmacists are playing a crucial role for public health in their communities.
About Prescryptive Health
Prescryptive Health is a healthcare technology company delivering solutions that empower consumers. Prescryptive's secure, mobile-first products connect consumers, pharmacists, and employers, ultimately providing people with the information they need to make informed decisions and take control of their health.
Read More
BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Orsini Specialty Pharmacy | September 28, 2021
Orsini Specialty Pharmacy, the leading independent specialty pharmacy focused on rare diseases and gene therapies, announced that Sanofi has selected it as a limited distribution partner for Nexviazyme® (avalglucosidase alfa-ngpt). Nexviazyme, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), is used for treating patients one year of age and older with late-onset Pompe disease (lysosomal acid alpha-glucosidase [GAA] deficiency). This progressive and debilitating muscle disorder impairs a person's ability to move and breathe. For more information about Nexviazyme, please see the Full Prescribing Information.
Pompe disease affects an estimated 3,500 people in the United States. It can present as infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD), the most severe form of Pompe disease with rapid onset in infancy, and late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), which progressively damages muscles over time. LOPD symptoms may present at any age. However, due to the broad spectrum of clinical presentations and progressive nature of the disease, it can take seven to nine years before patients receive an accurate diagnosis. As the disease progresses, people with LOPD may require mechanical ventilation to help with breathing or a wheelchair to assist with mobility.
Orsini's dedicated Pompe Disease Care Team's number one priority is providing exceptional care and compassionate support to patients and their families, We are proud to expand our partnership with Sanofi and add Nexviazyme to the growing number of enzyme replacement therapies we dispense to patients with rare diseases.
- Mike Fieri, Orsini's Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
About Orsini Specialty Pharmacy
Providing patients with comprehensive and compassionate care since 1987, Orsini is the leading independent specialty pharmacy focused on rare diseases, gene therapies, and complex conditions. Orsini's high-touch care model centers around experienced, therapy-specific care teams that provide personalized care to patients based on their specific conditions and treatments. The company's comprehensive solutions include medication adherence programs, data analytics, customized manufacturer programs, and nationwide nursing coverage for convenient in-home infusion services. Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, IL, Orsini Specialty Pharmacy holds accreditations with URAC, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), ACHC's Distinction in Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs, The Joint Commission, and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).
Read More