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February 05, 2012
Walgreens saw same-store sales drop in January amid a sharp decline in its pharmacy business, which took a hit from the company's stand-off with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Inc.
The January result marked the chain's first same-store sales decrease since October 2010. "We expected that January would be a very challenging month on a comparable prescription basis," pharmacy chief Kermit Crawford stated, citing the PBM dispute and a weak flu season.
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The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association commended Sen. Herb Kohl (D., Wis.) for highlighting concerns about the planned merger of pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. Responding to a rise in the number of whooping cough cases across the country, Rite Aid Corp. is alerting consumers that the pertussis vaccine is available at most of its drug stores. Target Corp. this week unveiled its pharmacy strategy for its planned Canadian stores. Last year, the Affordable Care Act health care reform law saved 3.6 million people with Medicare $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation this week launched its second round of funding for the Community Pharmacy Residency Expansion Project (Community PREP) and announced the winners of the 2011 Pharmacy Student Scholarship Awards. Larry Burton has been hired as senior vice president of government affairs at CVS Caremark Corp. Gains in both the front end and pharmacy propelled Rite Aid Corp. to another month of increased same-store sales in January.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Mylan Inc. tentative approval for atorvastatin calcium tablets, a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster Lipitor cholesterol-lowering medication. Personal health care products veteran M'lou Arnett has joined Matrixx Initiatives Inc., maker of the Zicam cold, sinus and allergy remedy line, as chief executive officer. Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. said it has completed its purchase of 15 of the 17 over-the-counter medicine brands that it agreed to acquire from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Schick has introduced the Xtreme3 Eco, which it said is the first disposable razor to use 100% recycled plastic in the production of its handle and 100% post-consumer paper in its packaging. Bebida Beverage Co. (BeBevCo) is slated to roll out its relaxation and energy drinks at Duane Reade drug stores. Sales and marketing specialist Crossmark has formed a new business unit for the drug and value retail channels. Leonard Genovese, part of the family that ran the former Genovese Drug Stores Inc. chain, has been retained by PearlBrite Concepts Inc. to serve on its board of advisors management team.
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