WASHINGTON — Health care reform took a major step closer to becoming a reality late last month when Democrats in the Senate were able to muster the necessary votes to block a Republican filibuster and move their proposal forward. The procedural vote, which was held shortly after 1 a.m. on a Sunday night, saw all
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — With the industry’s smaller chains facing what many have described as an uphill battle, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Regional Chain Conference next month will touch on a variety of topics relevant to the future of those companies. “The conference will provide not only critical information for the people
WASHINGTON — As the House and Senate health care bills go into the reconciliation process, 16 representatives have urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to consider a higher federal upper limit (FUL) to determine reimbursements for Medicaid prescriptions filled with generic drugs. In a December 16 letter to the speaker, 13 Democrats and three
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Per Lofberg has been named president of CVS Caremark Corp.’s pharmacy benefits management business. In addition, the company has appointed Lisa Bisaccia as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Lofberg, who was president and chief executive officer of Generation Health Inc., a genetics benefit management firm and CVS Caremark strategic
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. has received a two-year extension on its contract with the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) to provide pharmacy benefits for two years. The contract, which begins on September 1, is worth slightly less than $1 billion to CVS Caremark: It is valued at $480 million in 2011 and
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Drugstore.com has formed a multiyear partnership with optical store chain operator Luxottica Group SpA to expand online access to contact lenses in North America. Under the deal drugstore.com subsidiary Vision Direct Inc. (visiondirect.com) will collaborate with Luxottica to develop branded contact lens e-commerce sites for the latter’s North American business and provide
NEW YORK — Recession, unemployment, family, weather, an extra shopping day, convenience, price points under $10 and inventory management all impacted the 2009 holiday selling season. These factors combined to provide America’s chain drug retailers with a Christmas selling season most have gladly accepted — and a handful truly enjoyed. In terms of numbers, the
LONDON — Alliance Boots, the multifunctional global retailer and wholesaler, one that dominates the United Kingdom’s retail drug store segment, towers over Europe’s wholesale drug business and brings to the international retail community one of the planet’s dominant and most respected consumer goods brands, has been named the 2009 Global Chain Drug Retailer of the
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — To hear Andy Giancamilli tell it, one of the surest avenues to success in business, as in life, is to be in the right place at the right time. Throughout the course of his 34-year career in community pharmacy and mass market retailing, the chief executive officer of Katz Group North America
NEW YORK — In just over a year as chief merchandising officer of Duane Reade Inc., Joe Magnacca has put his stamp on the chain in a way equaled by few other retailers. The newest and most recently remodeled Duane Reade stores are all but unrecognizable for New York City shoppers accustomed to older units
DEERFIELD, Ill. — In recognition of his leadership in a rapidly changing industry, the editors of Chain Drug Review have named Walgreen Co. senior vice president of pharmacy Kermit Crawford the Chain Drug Pharmacy Executive of the Year. Crawford is helping transform Walgreens’ approach to the retail pharmacy business, moving from a focus on dispensing
DEERFIELD, Ill. — The editors of Chain Drug Review have named Greg Wasson, president and chief executive officer of Walgreen Co., the publication’s 2009 Chain Drug Retailer of the Year. Wasson has earned the distinction for no less an accomplishment than reinventing America’s most revered drug chain, one that until recently had earned its reverential
The year that just ended has seen the Walgreen Co. transform itself more suddenly, dramatically and, to some observers, inexplicably than any mass retailer in the industry’s annals. Go back to the last months of 2007. Walgreens was hardly a focus of undue industry attention. Rather, it was a drug chain that could be dependably
