News Roundup, July 2015: CVS Health, Allergan, Specialty Pharmacies, and Amy Schumer

The hot and hazy days of summer are here. Cool off with my refreshing selection of articles that cut through the steamy haze. In this issue:

• A handy primer on CVS Health’s history and strategy

• Allergan’s CEO explains how channel consolidation led to the Teva deal

• The New York Times attacks specialty pharmacies!

Plus, a sizzling update on The Amy Schumer Disappointing Lap Dance $5,000 Matching Challenge for Multiple Sclerosis. Please help me hit our goal by making a tax-deductible donation, and I will make my own donation of $5,000. Thank you!

How CVS Quit Smoking and Grew Into a Health Care Giant, The New York Times
The Gray Lady recently published this useful overview of CVS Health’s history and strategy. I recommend it to anyone who sells to—or negotiates with—this health care giant.

Allergan's CEO On Selling His Generics Business and What He'll Buy Next, Forbes
As you surely heard, Allergan just sold its generic portfolio to Teva for $40.5 billion. Forbes interviewed Allergan CEO Brenton Saunders about the deal. This quote caught my eye:

Forbes: So it was consolidation of the insurance industry that drove this?

Saunders: That is part of the dynamic – the bigger part of the dynamic, or the one that I watched more closely, is the consolidation of the purchasers. It was CVS Omnicare, it was CVS-Target, it was [Walgreens and Alliance Boots] signaling that they were going to participate in the consolidation just underscored the dynamism of this marketplace and what was going to happen, and the need for further consolidation in the generics business which sells its products very differently than the branded business. 

Specialty Pharmacies Proliferate, Along With Questions, The New York Times
Here’s The New York Times’s first major article on specialty pharmacies. The reporters use a few selective anecdotes to paint an unflattering (and in my opinion, inaccurate) picture of specialty pharmacies. On the plus side, the Times relied on our list of the top 10 specialty pharmacies as published in our 2014-15 Economic Report on Retail, Mail, and Specialty Pharmacies. Cool!

Amy Schumer Gave Me a Lap Dance to Fight MS: Please Help Drug Channels Continue the Fight, Drug Channels
Last week’s article about my trip down the red carpet with Amy Schumer generated some very unusual media coverage. I usually don't appear on Buzzfeed, Celebuzz, The Mighty, or the Huffington Post. Hot!

Alas, I’m disappointed to report that we still haven’t hit our matching target of $5,000. Everyone who reads Drug Channels is somehow involved in healthcare. Many of your companies market, distribute, dispense, or pay for multiple sclerosis therapies. So please show your support with a tax-deductible donation of any amount to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Once we hit the goal, I will make a personal donation of $5,000. Thank you!

Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise