Walgreens rebrands specialty pharmacy unit, gets into cell and gene therapy

Walgreens is consolidating its specialty pharmacy services into a new business unit that will include an 18,000-square-foot gene and cell therapy innovation center in Pittsburgh, the company announced on April 25.

Under the rebranded Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy division—which Rick Gates, Walgreens SVP and chief pharmacy officer, says will generate $24 billion per year—Walgreens is expanding its offerings to include the innovation center as well as four central specialty pharmacies, roughly 300 community-based specialty pharmacies, and more than 1,500 specialty-trained pharmacists, according to the company.

“Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is the largest independent provider that offers the industry’s most robust specialty capabilities not vertically aligned with a pharmacy benefit manager,” Gates said in a statement. “We have the flexibility to contract dynamically with any payer. 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.”

Specialty drugs are more complex than those dispensed in a typical pharmacy, including injectables and infusion drugs with specific storage and handling requirements. They’re used to treat patients with complex, chronic conditions and are very expensive, accounting for roughly 50% of the country’s total drug spend in 2021, according to government data.

Cell and gene therapies are types of large molecule drugs. Cell therapies involve injecting live cells into a patient to treat or cure a disease, while gene therapies modify a patient’s genes to treat or cure a disease.

Cell and gene therapies are becoming increasingly popular. The FDA approved six cell and gene therapies in 2022—twice as many as it had approved the year prior, Healthcare Brew previously reported.

They’re also very expensive: Healthcare Brew previously reported that the average cost for gene therapy is between $1 million and $2 million per dose, according to estimates from nonprofit organization the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.

Pharmacists working in the cell and gene therapy innovation center will have extensive training for all aspects of dealing with these specific therapies, including administration protocols and patient monitoring, Forbes reported.

Pharmacists working in Walgreens’s specialty pharmacies will also receive additional training on how to properly handle and administer specialty drugs, company executives said.

“When a patient must confront a life-changing, serious health challenge and begins therapy for a chronic or complex condition, our pharmacists are right there to guide and care for them throughout their healthcare journey—from helping them order and take their medication to identifying financial assistance opportunities and working with their doctor and insurance plan to make sure they’re receiving the most coordinated care,” Gates said in a statement.