Walgreens, Prime in multi-year deal

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens has reported that under a new, multi-year contract, it will be the exclusive specialty pharmacy provider for Prime Therapeutics. Walgreens will provide the service through its Pittsburgh-based Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy.

Prime Therapeutics, based in St. Paul, Minn., is a pharmacy benefit manager collectively owned by 10 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans. The contract serves specialty pharmacy users among more than 20 million health plan members.

“While we can’t predict the exact value of this contract, the annual specialty pharmacy spending by Prime’s total client base is significant,” said Stanley Blaylock, president of Walgreens Health Services. “Our partnership with Prime gives us the opportunity to manage specialty pharmaceuticals that are covered under both the medical and pharmacy benefit. We believe many – if not most – of those plans will use our services through Prime over time.

According to Walgreens, the services provided by Medmark will be part of Prime Therapeutics’ new Triessent pecialty pharmacy program. Medmark will provide Prime with medication fulfillment and complement Prime’s existing patient education and clinical support services. Its pharmacists and nurses will counsel patients on the importance of medication adherence and the management of side effects.