Walgreens Broadens Specialty Pharmacy Services for Cell and Gene Therapies

On Thursday, Walgreens revealed its plans to collaborate directly with drug manufacturers to provide cell and gene therapies to patients in the U.S. as part of its strategy to enhance its pharmacy services.

The company said it is launching a new business unit specifically for its pharmacy sector, integrating the specialty pharmacy subsidiary AllianceRx. This unit will operate as part of its main U.S. retail pharmacy division. At the same time, Shields Health Solutions, which backs health system-owned specialty pharmacies, will continue within Walgreens’s U.S. healthcare division.

Specialty pharmacies have become a dominant player in the U.S. healthcare system, particularly as chronic diseases have increasingly become more common.

Specialty pharmacies manage medications that require focused attention in handling, storage, and distribution, commonly prescribed for patients with chronic, rare, or complex conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, and HIV. In addition to dispensing medications, these pharmacies provide counseling and financial support programs tailored to help patients undergoing expensive treatments.

In addition to the company’s recent financial initiatives aimed to “transform” its specialty pharmacy services, it will open a licensed facility in Pittsburgh specifically for cell and gene therapies. The center, which is 18,000 square feet, will help drugmakers and healthcare providers navigate the intricate supply chain for these treatments, address patient needs, and handle other important tasks.

Walgreens’ choice to introduce cell and gene therapy services follows a rise in approvals for such drugs both in the U.S. and the European Union over the past year. These are one-off costly treatments that target a patient’s genetic source or cell to cure or significantly change the trajectory of the disease. Some health experts predict that cell and gene therapies will take over conventional lifelong treatments used to manage chronic diseases.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved seven cell and gene therapies, which include the first gene therapies for sickle cell disease. This sector is forecasted to rise further. The FDA anticipates reviewing and approving between 10 and 20 cell and gene therapies annually by 2025.

Walgreens said its latest business unit is the biggest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services, with around $24 billion in revenue from the segment. The company’s specialty pharmacy business operates independently and is not affiliated with a pharmacy benefit manager, according to the company.

In the release, Rick Gates, Walgreens’ chief pharmacy officer, said that having no current affiliation provides the company with “the flexibility to contract dynamically with any payer.” He added, “We can partner directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers to facilitate products to market, including limited distribution drugs, and coordinate closely with providers to ensure patients experience a smooth start to treatment.”