Inside these posts: Pharmacy benefits managers

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Walgreen to sell pharmacy benefits business

A Walgreens on Michigan Avenue. (Bonnie Trafelet/Chicago Tribune)

Walgreen Co. said Wednesday it will sell its pharmacy benefit management business, which increasingly has conflicted with the drugstore giant’s push to get consumers to fill their prescriptions at the pharmacy counter.

The Deerfield-based company will sell Walgreens Health Initiatives for $525 million in cash to Catalyst Health Solutions Inc. of Rockville, Md. The deal is expected to close in June. Get the full story »

Walgreen aims to fill more 90-day prescriptions

Walgreen Co. wants more customers to fill 90-day prescriptions in its stores, a move it says will make it easier for patients to stick to their drug regimens and save millions of dollars in healthcare costs. Get the full story »

SXC Health buys pharmacy provider MedfusionRx

Lisle-based pharmacy benefit management firm SXC Health Solutions Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to buy specialty pharmacy provider MedfusionRx LLC for US$100 million. Get the full story »

Medco not interested in Walgreen PBM unit

Medco Health Solutions Inc. would not be interested in buying Walgreen Co.’s pharmacy benefit unit because it is too small, Medco’s chief executive said on Friday.

Walgreen has hired Bank of America to sell its pharmacy benefits business, a source close to the situation told Reuters last month. Get the full story »

CVS warns of slower earnings growth in 2011

CVS Caremark Corp. warned that 2011 earnings growth could fall below its long-term goals as it spends money to streamline its pharmacy benefits management business and as fewer generic drugs hit the market.

Shares in the company, which operates drugstores and manages prescription drug plans, fell 3 percent Friday. Get the full story »

Prescription business brisk in 2Q

Prescriptions increased in the second quarter for some of the largest U.S. drugstores and pharmacy benefits managers despite the weak economy, an analyst for Fitch Ratings said Friday.

Analyst Bob Kirby said prescriptions for Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Express Scripts Inc. and for the drugstores Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. rose 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Kirby said he expects similar growth for the rest of the year assuming economic conditions don’t change much. Get the full story »