CVS, Aetna set to merge in transformative deal
CVS Health plans to acquire health insurer Aetna for roughly $69 billion in a first-of-its kind deal aimed at fending off challenges in retail and health care.
Issue 12-11-2017
AmerisourceBergen to acquire H.D. Smith
AmerisourceBergen Corp. plans to purchase pharmaceutical distributor H.D. Smith for $815 million in cash. The companies said that the transaction, pending regulatory review and other closing conditions, is expected to close in early 2018. Springfield, Ill.-based H.D.
Merchandising team realigned at Rite Aid
Rite Aid Corp. has announced a number of changes in senior management that are effective immediately. Bill Renz, Rite Aid’s current group vice president of consumables and photo, has been named senior vice president of category management.
Julian to retire from McKesson
Paul Julian, executive vice president and group president at McKesson Corp., is slated to retire at the end of the year.
Shareholders OK sale of Jean Coutu Group
Jean Coutu Group shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the sale of the pharmacy chain to fellow Quebec retailer Metro Inc. A near-unanimous 99.9% of votes cast sanctioned the $4.5 billion transaction, which was well above the two-thirds requirement.
First batch of Rite Aid stores go to WBA
Walgreens Boots Alliance has taken over the first 97 of its acquired Rite Aid Corp. stores. WBA purchased 1,932 stores under a revised deal with Rite Aid after the government thwarted its acquisition of the entire chain.
How a move by Amazon could impact retail Rx
While rumors of Amazon’s entry into pharmacy continue to swirl, some analysts are questioning just how significant the move would be. “Amazon’s U.S. Pharmacy Opportunity: Not Necessarily A Game Changer,” is the title of a report by Cowen.
Loblaw, SDM to combine loyalty programs
Next year, Loblaw Cos. plans to roll out a unified customer loyalty program that joins together the Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus plans of its Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) and supermarket chains.
Senators grill HHS nominee Alex Azar on cutting drug costs
Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical executive named by President Trump to be the next Health and Human Services secretary, told senators at a full committee nomination hearing that making prescription drugs more affordable would be one of his top priorities.
Walgreens, OraSure target AIDS
Walgreens and OraSure Technologies Inc., a provider of point-of-care diagnostic tests and specimen collection devices, are teaming up to fight AIDS. The companies announced several new HIV testing-related initiatives in recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1.
Golinkin departs Rite Aid subsidiaries
Web Golinkin, chief executive officer of Rite Aid Corp. subsidiaries RediClinic and Health Dialog, has left the companies to become CEO of FastMed Urgent Care. FastMed said Golinkin will oversee its more than 100 walk-in urgent care clinics in Arizona, Texas and North Carolina.
Pharmacists’ role in public health lauded
Steve Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and Gigi Kwik Gronvall, senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, discussed the increasingly important role pharmacists are playing in public health in a recent op-ed publi
What Millennial shoppers want is within reach of retailers
Millennials have been a hot topic of conversation for more than a decade. It’s the one generational group that continues to confound both employers and retailers: How do we attract them, engage them and retain them? Yet a majority of employees and shoppers are them.
Drug chains could benefit from ubiquity of AI
It sounds like a science fiction plot: machines and computers operating with intelligent and human-like behavior. But artificial intelligence (AI) is real and relevant to any task involving the intellect, and AI applications affect nearly all aspects of modern human life.
Walgreens rebranding embraces old, new
In an era when brand image all too often oversells what it is supposed to represent, Walgreens finds itself in the enviable position of updating its identity to better reflect its very real merits and the combination of continuity and change that characterizes the drug chain.
Senate tax reform bill may doom ACA’s individual mandate
The Senate’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual mandate as part of its sweeping tax reform bill has likely spelled doom for the provision, which required people who didn’t obtain health insurance to pay a tax penalty. Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.