Osco/Sav-on Alumni Club

Prescription drugs fuel rise in health spending

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Published: Thursday, March 10 2016 14:28

 U.S. spending on prescription drugs is projected to continue climbing faster than overall health care expenditures, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In 2015, U.S. prescription drug spending totaled $457 billion, up 7.8% from $424 billion in 2014, which had represented a 12.5% year-over-year increase. Retail prescription drug spending accounted for 71.9% of total drug expenditures in 2015, while non-retail drugs — including specialty drugs — were 28.1% of overall drug outlays.

Last year, retail prescription drug expenditures grew 7.5% to $328 billion from $305 billion in 2014, according to the “Observations on Trends in Prescription Drug Spending” report from HHS’ Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Non-retail drug spending came in at $128 billion, up 7.6% from $119 billion the prior year.

Nationwide, prescriptions totaled 3.95 billion in 2015, up 0.8% from 3.92 billion the previous year, according to ASPE estimates based on IMS Health data. Year-over-year prescription growth has averaged 2.7% for the past five years.

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Mark Panzer to lead GM, HBA at Albertsons

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Published: Tuesday, February 02 2016 13:43

Albertsons Cos. pharmacy chief Mark Panzer has added oversight of the food and drug chain’s general merchandise and health and beauty aids businesses to his duties.

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December 2015 Connections Published

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Published: Thursday, December 17 2015 10:28

The December 2015 issue of the club's Connections newsletter has been published.  

Members can access this issue and the Connections newsletter archive by clicking HERE and then click on the Connections logo to access the archive.

You must have Acrobat® Reader® installed to view. 

FTC requests more info on Walgreens-Rite Aid deal

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Published: Friday, December 11 2015 20:58

The Federal Trade Commission has requested additional information from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. regarding WBA’s proposed acquisition of Rite Aid.

WBA and Rite Aid said Friday that the second request for information, made under the notification requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, extends the waiting period until 30 days after they have substantially complied with the request, unless that period is extended voluntarily by the companies or terminated sooner by the FTC.

The companies noted that the request is a standard part of the regulatory process in connection with the FTC’s review and that they have been cooperating with the FTC staff since shortly after the acquisition agreement was announced on Oct. 27. Both companies reiterated that they expect the transaction to close in the second half of calendar 2016.

Under the $17.2 billion deal, WBA is buying Rite Aid for more than $9 billion in cash, or $9 per share, and assume over $7 billion in net debt. Plans call for Rite Aid to become a wholly owned subsidiary of WBA following the merger, with Rite Aid initially slated to operate under its current brand name.

In the United States, the deal joins the nation’s largest drug chain with its third-largest, creating a pharmacy retailer with more than 12,800 stores across the country. Walgreens has 8,173 drug stores — including Duane Reade stores — in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rite Aid, which had fiscal 2015 sales of $26.5 billion, operates 4,562 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Projections vary widely on the number of stores WBA would need to divest to gain regulatory approval for the acquisition. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, WBA said the deal allows for up to 1,000 outlets to be closed or sold “if required by ­regulators” but stated that the number will probably be less than 500. Some analysts peg the likely number of store divestitures at 400.

Other observers suggested that many more stores could be shed post-merger as Walgreens looks to minimize cannibalization and rationalize its real estate portfolio. They noted that the drug chains have overlapping locations in numerous markets, with Rite Aid and Walgreens stores across the street from each other in many neighborhoods.

SOURCE: Chain Drug Review