Drug Channels News Roundup: March 2012

Yesterday was the first day of spring! I can think of no better way to celebrate than with my latest monthly look at noteworthy news stories from the Drug Channels multiverse.

In this issue:

• A Walgreen-Rite Aid Merger? Really?!?
• A New Startup Aims for Prescription Price Transparency
• Hospitals Get Into the Specialty Pharmacy Game

Plus, The Onion delves into the FDA’s decision to allow importation of Doxil and methotrexate.

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14th Annual Medicaid Rebates Conference (sponsor)

I am pleased to welcome CBI's 14th Annual Medicaid Rebates Conference as a Drug Channels sponsor. The conference will be held at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL on May 16-18, 2012. Great location!

This event promises to be another valuable opportunity to catch up on big issues, including Average Manufacturer Price (AMP), Bona Fide Service Fees, Managed Medicaid, and more. Read more in the official description below or visit the event website.

CBI is offering a special $400 discount to Drug Channels readers. Just register with Promo code QFR332. Thanks, CBI!

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Customer Evolution Requires Pharm Revolution (Guest Post)

Today’s guest post is from Theo Fellgett, Media VP for SFE & Commercial Excellence at EyeForPharma, a Drug Channels sponsor. Theo provides an interesting viewpoint on customer evolution and the future of pharma by discussing sales models with executives from such companies as Novartis, Cubist, and IMAR Life Sciences.

The 2012 Sales Force Effectiveness & Commercial Excellence conference will be held June 12-14, 2012, at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, NJ. Click here for registration and Early Bird Specials.

Please contact Theo Fellgett (theo@eyeforpharma.com or 800-814-3459 Ext. 7591) with any questions about the article or the event.

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Pfizer's Lipitor Strategy and the 2012 Generic Monster

After more than three months, Lipitor share is now tracking above historical generic substitution patterns, i.e., the brand-name version is losing share more slowly than a typical generic drug. The pretty picture below tells the tale.

As expected, 2012 will be the monster year for generic launches. Twenty-five drugs, with total revenues of $35.6 billion, face a loss of exclusivity in 2012. (See the list below.) Trust me—many manufacturers are studying Lipitor’s strategy.

The generic boom-and-bust will reshape the entire drug channel system—and how manufacturers must interact with pharmacies, wholesalers, and PBMs. Happy Ides of March!

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Rite Aid: Smart or Lucky?

Well, hit me on the head and call me shorty! Good ol’ Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) is showing signs of life.

Same store pharmacy sales are growing, the company is getting a bit trimmer, debt is (slowly) being paid off, and the stock price has doubled since October.

They have a long way to go to achieve actual business health, but I see a low risk of outright bankruptcy. Rite-Aid’s $6+ billion debt load remains a big deterrent to any potential acquirer … unless Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) gets very, very desperate.

Read on for my take on their reanimation. What do you think: Are they lucky or smart?

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AARP Distorts Drug Price Data (Again)

For years, the AARP has been releasing periodic drug price reports, authored by Stephen Schondelmeyer of the University of Minnesota and Leigh Purvis of AARP. The latest study claims that “retail prices for a combined set of widely used prescription drugs finds the cumulative change in prices from 2005 through 2009 was almost double the rate of inflation.” See the AARP press release.

While the new study makes some mild concessions to prior methodological critiques, Dr. Schondelmeyer and Ms. Purvis again draw a completely specious comparison between drug prices and overall inflation. This unscrupulous misrepresentation is discouraging, especially when the media dutifully covers the "news." To be fair, even the New York Times has been shamed into presenting both sides of the story.

Read on for the depressing details and let me know if you agree.

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