The U.S. beauty and personal care market has been barely inching upward, with only 3% growth over the past five years. As the next five years don’t hold out great hope of any faster gains, industry leaders have been seeking bigger returns through inorganic growth — which has often meant acquiring both smaller, more innovative
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has named Jon Roberts to the new position of executive vice president and chief operating officer. Roberts, who was president of the CVS Caremark pharmacy benefits management unit, will continue to report to CVS Health president and chief executive officer Larry Merlo. The company said that in his new position
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has called for bipartisan support for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act, but his own party was divided on the issue. In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Trump asked Republicans and Democrats “to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.” Reiterating his campaign rhetoric, the
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) has promoted Steve Turner to vice president and chief information officer at Walgreens, effective April 1. He succeeds outgoing CIO Abhi Dhar, with whom he is working closely to transition responsibilities. Dhar is leaving to serve as cofounder and chief executive officer of a digital start-up based
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Rite Aid Corp.’s RediClinic retail health clinic subsidiary is approaching a milestone. With the grand opening of six clinics late last month — inside Rite Aid stores in Toms River (two locations), Belford, Little Egg Harbor, Neptune and Old Bridge, N.J. — RediClinic has 99 locations overall. The 100th is due
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart plans to make the shopping experience faster and easier for its pharmacy customers with the addition of express lanes in its stores and a new feature in its mobile app. The Walmart mobile app’s “easy refill” feature will allow patients — after a simple, one-time setup — to quickly refill prescriptions,
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has joined with more than 200 members of the Americans for Affordable Products coalition to lay out a case to Congress against the Border Adjustment Tax. The BAT is included in the House Republican leadership’s “Better Way” plan for tax reform. In a letter to
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Pharmacy said it has removed partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from its store-brand food offerings. Since January, the company has been selling more than 600 grocery and snack options without PHOs, the primary source of artificial trans fats in processed food. PHOs have been linked to rising rates of heart disease. The
TORONTO — To mark Pharmacist Awareness Month, Rexall is launching its third annual #MyRexallPharmacist campaign. Beginning March 1 and continuing through the month, Canadians are invited to share a positive experience with their Rexall pharmacist on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #MyRexallPharmacist or by visiting myrexallpharmacist.ca. By sharing their story, Canadians will have a chance
WASHINGTON — The pace of growth in U.S. health care spending is expected to quicken this year, increasing 5.4% over 2016, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Health care spending last year hit $3.4 trillion, an amount that represents a 4.8% increase from 2015, CMS said in a
DEERFIELD, Ill. — More than 50 Walgreens community specialty pharmacies have been designated as cancer-specialized locations, according to the company, which noted that those facilities are led by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with advanced cancer care training and knowledge, including medication management and patient support. Walgreens said that the cancer-specialized pharmacies help patients access to,
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has chosen the Epic electronic health record (EHR) system for its CVS Specialty care management programs. The transition to Epic will help integrate and improve clinical processes for CVS Specialty, including processes for CVS’ Accordant unit, which provides care management program services for patients with rare, chronic diseases. This move
BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Cos. is partnering with RangeMe, an online platform for product discovery, to scale its retail buying efforts for the general merchandise and health and beauty categories across all of the company’s 19 banners. “This new technology directly benefits our customers and employees alike,” comments Mark Panzer, senior vice president of pharmacy,
WASHINGTON — There was a time not all that many years ago when corporate social responsibility (CSR) was viewed by most companies as a second- or third-tier priority, something good to do but not a central part of the business model. That thinking has changed radically in recent years, with CSR taking its rightful place
