https://mailchi.mp/ea16393ac3c3/gist-weekly-march-22-2024?e=d1e747d2d8

On Monday, national supermarket giant Kroger announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell its specialty pharmacy business to insurer Elevance Health, which plans to fold the business into its CarelonRx pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) division. Kroger’s in-store retail pharmacies and walk-in clinics are not included in the deal, which could close in the second half of 2024. Kroger’s specialty pharmacy is the sixth largest by revenue, serving two percent of the US market. The planned sale comes as Kroger pursues a merger with rival supermarket chain Albertsons, which also operates a specialty pharmacy, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it’s challenging that merger.  

The Gist: With total pharmacy spend up 25 percent since 2019, including a 34 percent growth for specialty drugs, Elevance is capitalizing on a booming market by pushing into pharmacy services, following last year’s acquisition of BioPlus, another specialty pharmacy.

Administering high-cost drugs to patients with rare or complex diseases, specialty pharmacies now account for more than half of all prescription drug spending despite making up only around two percent of total prescription volumes.