New direction puts Rite Aid back on track
Rite Aid has embarked on a game-changing metamorphosis, a boldly conceived and thus far brilliantly executed initiative that, if successful, will transform America’s No.
Opinion
Momentous year for drug chains begins to unfold
This year promises to be a pivotal one for the chain drug business, as issues of industrywide significance are decided even as individual companies strive to fortify and improve their position in an intensely competitive sector where the pace of change is steadily accelerating.
Rx should close ranks behind Walgreens
Much has been written about Walgreens’ struggle to flourish in the aftermath of the drug chain’s decision to discontinue its relationship with Express Scripts, one of America’s most important pharmacy benefit managers.
Chain drug executives who had a big impact in 2011
or, at the least, not easily forgotten. Here, in no particular order, are 10 chain drug industry executives who made a big impact during 2011: • Greg Wasson, Walgreens’ president and CEO.
Cosby looks to be good fit at CVS/pharmacy
Mark Cosby made his first public appearance as CVS/pharmacy president last month during CVS Caremark’s 2011 conference for investors and financial analysts.
Outlook for biopharmaceutical sector is bright
patent cliffs, stagnant pipelines, the end of the blockbuster era, etc. In reality, the prospects of the biopharmaceutical sector — for patients in search of new medicines, for policy makers seeking value in the health care system and for
Bloom’s arrival a catalyst for Family Dollar
If initial indications offer any guarantee of an eventual outcome, Mike Bloom’s arrival as president and chief operating officer at Family Dollar Stores promises to benefit the dollar retailer in ways almost too numerous to detail.
Walgreens stands up for the value of pharmacy
With the end of the year less than three weeks away, it appears all but certain that Walgreens will not be part of Express Scripts’ network of pharmacy providers when 2012 gets under way.
A year of big changes in chain drug industry
This has been a stunning year for chain drug retailing, a period punctuated by dramatic changes in both direction and personnel.
Rx has means to counter budget cutters
Retail pharmacy operators continue to find themselves on the firing line as government officials work to rein in health care spending and address worrisome long-term budget deficits. Medicaid, the federal/state program that provides health care for the indigent, is a case in point.
Walgreens makes more stunning changes
Change never comes easily, especially for a company blessed with success. Why change, the thinking goes, when what we’re doing apparently works so well? That’s been Walgreens’ dilemma. Very few retailers, and no drug chains, have enjoyed the success Walgreens has found over the past 30 years.
Healthier Rite Aid is boost for industry
It’s time for people in the chain drug industry to take another look at Rite Aid, whose long, painful turnaround has started to gain traction in recent months. For more than a decade the company has been widely viewed as something of an invalid, a status that resulted from self-inflicted wounds.
There is simply no one to replace DeMino
The people who founded, built and served the chain drug industry in this country during its halcyon days are rapidly disappearing from the scene. During the summer death claimed Charlie Bowlus, the founder and driving force behind ECRM.
Chain drug retailers think outside the box
Many drug chains can take justifiable pride in their efforts to rethink the shopping experience. Walgreen Co., Rite Aid Corp.
Golden era in Rx ends with DeMino’s death
When Len DeMino retired earlier this month after over 50 years of service to the profession of community pharmacy, he closed the door on the golden era of chain drug retailing, an era he helped define.
High Court should weigh in on health care reform
Whatever one thinks of the health care reform legislation, whose most far-reaching provisions are due to take effect in 2014, it should be welcome news that the Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to consider the ongoing legal challenges to the law.