Content about Private

August 27, 2012

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy has earned a spot on Inc. magazine's annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy has earned a spot on Inc. magazine's annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Honored for the fourth consecutive year, the specialty pharmacy provider ranked No. 1 when combing revenue and growth rate of 2012 Inc. 5000 companies operating in the health industry, ranked No. 4 in total revenue of 2012 Inc. 5000 companies operating in the health industry and generated more than $502 million in growth over three years.

August 17, 2012

Even just a few years ago, this kind of collaboration between a healthcare group and a drug store around a comprehensive food nutrition education program probably wouldn't have happened. Truth be told, it really isn't happening today. And that's because Walgreens isn't a drug store. Walgreens is a health and daily living solutions store.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Even just a few years ago, this kind of collaboration between a healthcare group and a drug store around a comprehensive food nutrition education program probably wouldn't have happened. Truth be told, it really isn't happening today. And that's because Walgreens isn't a drug store. Walgreens is a health and daily living solutions store.

August 17, 2012

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policy-makers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses.

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policy-makers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses. In addition, new evidence offers a fresh reminder of the perils of managed care in Medicaid and the need for proper oversight of managed care entities.

August 17, 2012

While the ultimate impact of healthcare reform is still being debated, one trend is clear: Accountable care organizations continue to pick up steam. An ACO is a unique healthcare delivery model defined as a network of healthcare providers who share responsibility for coordinating high-quality care across a specific patient population.

While the ultimate impact of healthcare reform is still being debated, one trend is clear: Accountable care organizations continue to pick up steam. An ACO is a unique healthcare delivery model defined as a network of healthcare providers who share responsibility for coordinating high-quality care across a specific patient population. The concept is not new and, in fact, is based largely on integrated health system models that have been successful for many years.

August 15, 2012

Beauty company Physicians Formula is being acquired by private equity firm Swander Pace Capital for $4.25 per share in cash, or approximately $65 million.

AZUSA, Calif., and SAN FRANCISCO — Beauty company Physicians Formula is being acquired by private equity firm Swander Pace Capital for $4.25 per share in cash, or approximately $65 million.

August 13, 2012

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will take Taro Pharmaceutical Industries private, under a merger agreement between the two companies announced Sunday.

MUMBAI, India — Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will take Taro Pharmaceutical Industries private, under a merger agreement between the two companies announced Sunday.

Sun, based in India, has sought to buy Israel-based Taro since 2007 and owns about 77.5% of the latter's shares.

After the merger is complete, Taro will become a privately held company and wholly owned subsidiary of Sun. Taro shareholders will receive $39.50 per share.

August 7, 2012

Campbell's has completed the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms from a fund managed by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $1.55 billion in cash.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell's has completed the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms from a fund managed by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $1.55 billion in cash.

The company said it will operate Bolthouse as a separate business unit. Members of Bolthouse Farms' senior management team will continue to lead the business, with Bolthhouse Farms president Jeff Dunn reporting directly to Campbell's president and CEO Denise Morrison. The acquisition was first announced in early July.

August 6, 2012

A cool trillion dollars. That’s what the generic industry said U.S. patients and public and private health plan payers have saved over the last decade by switching from branded to generic prescription drugs at pharmacy counters.

A cool trillion dollars. That’s what the generic industry said U.S. patients and public and private health plan payers have saved over the last decade by switching from branded to generic prescription drugs at pharmacy counters.

Looked at another way, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association trumpeted in a study released last Thursday that me-too medicines saved a half-billion dollars a day between 2002 and 2011.

August 3, 2012

AstraZeneca's biologics division has begun shipping doses of influenza vaccine to distributors for the 2012-2013 flu season, the company said.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — AstraZeneca's biologics division has begun shipping doses of influenza vaccine to distributors for the 2012-2013 flu season, the company said.

July 16, 2012

Walgreens and Alliance Boots — it’s a trans-Atlantic retail pharmacy game-changer. 


Walgreens and Alliance Boots — it’s a trans-Atlantic retail pharmacy game-changer. 


As the largest single purchaser of prescription drugs in the world, with 11,000 retail pharmacies in 12 countries that currently dispense more than 260 million prescriptions a year, and a global pharmaceutical wholesale operation to match, serving more than 180,000 healthcare outlets worldwide, the new company will have a whole lot more leverage on that side of the business. 


July 16, 2012

An affiliate of private investment firm TPG will acquire Par Pharmaceutical Cos., the drug maker said Monday.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — An affiliate of private investment firm TPG will acquire Par Pharmaceutical Cos., the drug maker said Monday.

Par said it had entered into an agreement to be acquired for $1.9 billion. Par shareholders will receive $50 per share, representing a 37% premium over the company's Friday closing price.

July 13, 2012

“The dirty little secret is that the ‘how’ counts as much as the ‘what.’”

“The dirty little secret is that the ‘how’ counts as much as the ‘what.’”

I recently interviewed a diverse group of retail executives concerning their needs and how they perceive the engagement style of their supplier partners. The comments shared were very telling and offer each of us an opportunity to look in the mirror. Are you truly being effective when you are presenting your companies innovations and business cases?

July 9, 2012

Campbell's is expanding its business in the healthy beverage and packaged fresh foods businesses with the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell's is expanding its business in the healthy beverage and packaged fresh foods businesses with the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms.

Campbell's said it would acquire Bolthouse Farms from a fund managed by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $1.55 billion in cash. The company said that it plans to operate Bolthouse Farms as a separate business unit, while members of Bolthouse's senior management team, including president and CEO Jeff Dunn, will remain with the company.

July 5, 2012

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policymakers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses. In addition, new evidence offers a fresh reminder of the perils of managed care in Medicaid and the need for proper oversight of managed care entities.

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policymakers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses. In addition, new evidence offers a fresh reminder of the perils of managed care in Medicaid and the need for proper oversight of managed care entities.

July 2, 2012

Obamacare will stand.

Obamacare will stand.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the notion that individuals could face federal tax penalties if they failed to purchase some level of health insurance by 2014. That could put as many as 40 million uninsured Americans into the coverage rolls — and potentially into prescription drug coverage — by the time the health-reform law is fully enacted.

June 28, 2012

The Supreme Court on Thursday identified the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a tax, which means the constitutionality of the healthcare-reform package cannot be addressed until after that tax is assessed.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday morning identified the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a tax, which means the constitutionality of the healthcare-reform package cannot be addressed until after that tax is assessed.

The court did rule the health insurance mandate, a key part of the Affordable Care Act, as unconstitutional; however, the government will continue to be able to tax people for not having health insurance.

June 21, 2012

As much as CVS created a category of one for itself with its vertically integrated retail pharmacy-pharmacy benefit manager-clinic model, Walgreens has cast itself in a category of its own: A pharmacy-driven, global health-and-wellness company with the purchasing strength of more than 11,000 stores.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — As much as CVS created a category of one for itself with its vertically integrated retail pharmacy-pharmacy benefit manager-clinic model, Walgreens has cast itself in a category of its own: A pharmacy-driven, global health-and-wellness company with the purchasing strength of more than 11,000 stores.

(THE NEWS: Walgreens, Alliance Boots to merge. For the full story, click here)

June 21, 2012

Retailers are awakening to the possibility that their sleep aids — typically merchandised near the floor level of a set synergistically near tablet pain relievers — may deserve a placement closer to eye level.

Retailers are awakening to the possibility that their sleep aids — typically merchandised near the floor level of a set synergistically near tablet pain relievers — may deserve a placement closer to eye level. It may sound cliché to characterize sleep aids as a sleeper category — that is until you look at the 11.6% trailing 52-week dollar growth, and then back down to the floor where the sleep aids are typically merchandised.


June 21, 2012

The leader of the country’s largest privately owned specialty pharmacy provider had a day in Washington.

FLINT, Mich. — The leader of the country’s largest privately owned specialty pharmacy provider had a day in Washington. Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy CEO Phil Hagerman and several other business leaders were invited last month to attend a one-day forum on jobs and the economy, and opportunities for collaboration between government and private sector, by the White House Business Council and Business Forward.

June 21, 2012



It may be more than just coincidence that Walgreens has decided to really blow the doors off of retail pharmacy in the same city that screams horsepower every year over Memorial Day weekend.



It may be more than just coincidence that Walgreens has decided to really blow the doors off of retail pharmacy in the same city that screams horsepower every year over Memorial Day weekend. Because even as those Indy 500 drivers are chugging their milk at the Brickyard, Walgreens’ pharmacists will be celebrating a victory of their own as they and their customers help redefine what “drug store” means in shopper parlance.

June 20, 2012

Supervalu is expanding its private-label offering to include 2,700 products across more than 100 categories by 2013.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu is expanding its private-label offering to include 2,700 products across more than 100 categories by 2013.

Essential Everyday products, which are available at approximately 3,300 stores nationwide — including Supervalu's family of stores — currently features more than 1,200 items across more than 40 categories. The expanded Essential Everyday brand lineup was introduced in New York last week by chef and cookbook author Antonia Lofaso.

June 18, 2012

Top-level executives from more than a dozen major U.S. companies on Monday joined with government officials to launch a nationwide public-private sector initiative to advance employment of people with disabilities.

WINDSOR, Conn. — Top-level executives from more than a dozen major U.S. companies on Monday joined with government officials to launch a nationwide public-private sector initiative to advance employment of people with disabilities. The companies and officials plan to work together to achieve common goals, including to identify and resolve employment barriers facing people with disabilities, share experience and best practices, raise visibility around the effort and awareness of the significant benefits, and expand participation.

June 18, 2012

Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS, a coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the domestic epidemic, are teaming with health departments and local AIDS organizations to provide free HIV testing at 47 Walgreens stores in 20 cities across the nation in June in support of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, the companies announced last week.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS, a coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the domestic epidemic, are teaming with health departments and local AIDS organizations to provide free HIV testing at 47 Walgreens stores in 20 cities across the nation in June in support of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, the companies announced last week.

June 15, 2012

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has agreed to acquire a specialty oral health company that develops and commercializes products that improve and maintain oral health.

MONTREAL — Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has agreed to acquire a specialty oral health company that develops and commercializes products that improve and maintain oral health.

Valeant said it is acquiring OraPharma from private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners for $312 million. The drug maker also said it will pay $114 million in potential contingent payments based on certain milestones.

June 14, 2012

McKesson has announced that the complete line of Health Mart private-label over-the-counter healthcare products is now available with the introduction of the final two product categories in the assortment — incontinence and personal diagnostics. The new items will make their debut at McKesson ideaShare 2012, which is slated for June 24 to 28 in Las Vegas’ Venetian Resort Hotel.

McKesson has announced that the complete line of Health Mart private-label over-the-counter healthcare products is now available with the introduction of the final two product categories in the assortment — incontinence and personal diagnostics. The new items will make their debut at McKesson ideaShare 2012, which is slated for June 24 to 28 in Las Vegas’ Venetian Resort Hotel.