Specialty Pharmacy

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy president and CEO Phil Hagerman has been named the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year, Diplomat said Friday.

HORSHAM, Pa. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for prostate cancer made by Johnson & Johnson.

Centocor Ortho Biotech, J&J’s biotech subsidiary, announced Thursday the approval of Zytiga (abiraterone acetate), a daily pill for use in combination with the corticosteroid prednisone for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body in men who have received prior chemotherapy with Sanofi-Aventis’ Taxotere (docetaxel).

ARLINGTON, Va. — Distributors of specialty drugs save the healthcare industry an estimated $3.5 billion per year by using extensive measures to ensure safe delivery, according to a new report by the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research, the research foundation of the Healthcare Distribution Management Association.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The New Life Agency has added a prescription progesterone supplement and RESOLVE: the National Fertility Association to the Fertility Pharmacy Care Card.

Chain pharmacies and independent pharmacies each have their advantages and disadvantages. Chains generally follow a top-down business model that requires all stores to be roughly identical in terms of their look and services, but they can offer those services to customers around the country. Independents’ services usually are limited to one or a handful of locations in a single geographic area, but they have more freedom in terms of their mix of products and services.


On top of its 101 in-store pharmacies, Schnucks last year opened four specialty pharmacies, offering specialized services to patients.


The pharmacies offer services for patients living with such chronic conditions as HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases, as well as for people recovering from organ transplants, said company spokesman Paul Simon. “It’s for patients who require special attention and hard-to-source medication,” he added.


REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Drug maker AP Pharma has appointed two new executives and may receive financing of up to $4.5 million, the company said Monday.

AP announced the appointment of John Whelan as president, CEO and director, and Michael Adam as SVP and COO.


In the May issue of Consumer Reports, a report found that such independents as McKesson’s Health Mart franchise group are delivering the goods.


McKesson helped capitalize on what has always been an exemplary Health Mart patient experience at the top of last year with a multi-
million-dollar ad campaign that included an ad during the New Orleans Saints/Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl. That 2010 campaign featured real Health Mart pharmacists with stories on how they have impacted their local communities by taking the time to care and provide special services.