Patients with complicated, long-term diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, and Crohn's disease will soon have access to cutting-edge cell and gene treatments at a new pharmacy established by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
Walgreens to Establish Gene and Cell Services Pharmacy and Innovation Center in Pittsburgh
In a press release on Wednesday, Walgreens said that an 18,000-square-foot facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, would serve as a link between pharmaceutical firms, healthcare facilities, and insurance providers.
After receiving the treatments from the manufacturers, Walgreens will perform all the essential tests and verifications to guarantee that the patient gets the correct medication.
Walgreens believes it will also be attractive to drugmakers due to the center's lack of affiliation with a pharmacy benefit manager, which will give them the freedom to work with all customers.
Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy
Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth has taken steps to position the drugstore chain for development, cutting the dividend almost in half and performing a strategic review of the business.
According to Bloomberg, US regulators have only approved a few cell and gene therapies, but Walgreens is still keen to enter this growing market.
According to Walgreens, its specialty pharmacy "is focused on breaking through healthcare system silos, bringing convenient access to hard-to-find medications and critical adherence support."
Walgreens also plans to consolidate the company's specialty pharmacy assets under a newly created division. In the statement, Walgreens said the total revenue of its specialty assets is around $24 billion.
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