NEW YORK — Duane Reade has promoted Joe Magnacca, formerly executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, to president. Magnacca, a retail industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, joined Duane Reade in October 2008 as senior vice president and chief merchandising officer. He was later promoted to executive vice president, but he
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Aetna Inc. has agreed to use CVS Caremark Corp. to provide pharmacy benefit management services to its 9.7 million members for the next 12 years. “We are very pleased to be working with Aetna, and we believe our integrated approach and multichannel platform will help Aetna deliver exceptional results for its clients
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. is converting a growing number of outlets to its urban store concept. A spokesman for the drug store chain says that by the year’s end about 300 CVS stores in large cities across the country will sport the new look, which features more non-health care products along with a
TORONTO — Executives at Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) say that the recent rollback in pharmacy reimbursement rates across Canada is likely to slow the retailer’s growth in the coming years. “It is our assumption at this point in time that it’s absolutely possible to grow earnings over the next few years,” president and chief executive
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has issued new rules that require health insurers to provide free coverage of a wide range of preventive health services. The rules are intended to improve access to and use of these services, which currently are often subject to deductibles, coinsurance or copayments. Under the new regulations, which were issued
NEW YORK — Chain drug retailers are readying now to deliver millions of flu shots starting as early as next month. The flu season is expected to start in the fall, and eight flu vaccines from six companies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, precluding a repeat of last year’s concerns over
MIAMI — Navarro Discount Pharmacies has upgraded and reopened its flagship store in Miami and plans similar upgrades for other drug store locations. The retailer recently held a grand reopening of its original store at 1243 S.W. 8 St. in Miami, which opened in 1961 as El Nacional Drug Store. Navarro notes that the event
RALEIGH, N.C. — Former pharmaceutical company executive Richard Domann has joined Kerr Drug’s Kerr Health subsidiary. Domann, who has more than three decades of experience in the drug industry, is the company’s vice president of sales and business development. “Dick’s immense pharmaceutical background makes him a wonderful addition to our team,” Kerr chief executive officer
NEW YORK — Expectations for back-to-school spending may be up or down this year, depending on which consumer survey is consulted. But retail pharmacy operators who provide walk-in clinics are looking to capture business from pre-college and college students requiring physical exams and immunizations before heading back to class. The outlook for back-to-school (B-T-S) and
WASHINGTON — John Castellani has been named president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Castellani, who will assume his new role September 1, joins PhRMA after more than nine years as president and chief executive officer of the Business Roundtable, a leading association of chief executive officers. He will
Though the year is barely half over, the major story of 2010 is clearly the retailer rush to pare assortments, popularly known as SKU rationalization. This exercise in reducing the number of items on retailer shelves has taken on a life of its own. It has been cited as a major impetus for the recent
The Obama administration has begun the slow, laborious process of implementing the Affordable Care Act, legislation that will bring momentous changes to the nation’s health care system by the time its major provisions take effect in 2014. Decisions made at the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies will
