Walgreens expands specialty pharmacy services to help provide cell and gene therapy to patients

A man drives into a Walgreens truck, part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, on November 26, 2021, in Manhattan, New York City.

Andrew Kelly |

Walgreens Professional pharmacy services serving US patients will begin work Thursday to bring in drug dealers as part of a larger expansion of cell and gene therapy.

The company said it is launching a new business unit dedicated to its specialty pharmaceuticals segment, which will include specialty pharmaceuticals subsidiary AllianceRx. The unit will be part of its core US retail pharmacy segment. At the same time, Jhal Health Solutions is a subsidiary that supports health system-owned specialty pharmacies and will be part of Walgreens’ US healthcare division.

Pharmacies in particular have become an important player in the US health care system, especially in the treatment of chronic diseases becoming more common.

Great care is required during handling, storage and dispensing of medicines obtained from specialized pharmacies. These treatments often target patients with chronic, rare or complex diseases, such as cancer, Crohn’s disease and HIV. Specialty pharmacies also offer counseling or financial assistance designed to help patients with these expensive treatments.

In a new investment to “transform” the company’s specialty pharmacy services, it will open a new licensed facility in Pittsburgh dedicated to providing cell and gene therapy services. The 18,000-square-foot center will help drugmakers and healthcare providers navigate the complex supply chain for these treatments and manage issues such as patient demand.

Andrew Brooks |

Walgreens’ decision to launch cell and gene therapy services follows a surge in drug approvals in the United States and the European Union last year. They are one-time, high-cost treatments that target a patient’s genetic origins or cells to cure or significantly alter the course of a disease. Some health experts hope that cell and gene therapies will replace the traditional lifelong treatments people use to manage chronic diseases.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved seven cell and gene therapies last year, including the first gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease. The market is only expected to grow: The FDA expects that by 2025, 10 to 20 cell and gene therapies will be reviewed each year. and will be approved.

Walgreens said its newly formed business unit is the largest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services, with revenues of about $24 billion. Walgreens specialty pharmacy operations do not work with pharmacy benefit managers, The company noted.

This gives the company “the flexibility to dynamically contract with any payer,” Walgreens Chief Pharmacy Officer Rick Gates said in a news release. “We can work directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers to facilitate product launches with limited distribution and coordinate closely with suppliers to ensure smooth initiation of treatment for patients.”

Walgreens said in a news release that under the new division, AllianceRx patients, as well as the company’s nearly 300 community pharmacies, will now have access to resources that will “generate the expert care they receive from highly specialized pharmacists.” ” These include physicians, nutritionists and specialist nurses specializing in major diseases.

The company said its community specialty pharmacy Located near medical office buildings and health systems, it offers “faster than industry average” specialty drugs as well as services such as injection training and side effect management.

Walgreens has it More than 1,500 specialty pharmacists, 5,000 patient advocacy support team members and an unknown number of dedicated specialty pharmacy teams.

The company offers more than 1,300 specialty drugs, including 240 “limited distribution” drugs that are rarely available in specialty pharmacies.