ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) has relocated its headquarters to the Washington, D.C., area.

NASP said Tuesday that the move is effective immediately. The new headquarters address is 1765 Duke St., Alexandria, Va., 22314. NASP staff have already moved to the new location.

The association noted that the new location reflects a strategic shift to advocacy.

“This move signals a strategic shift in NASP priorities,” NASP president Mike Ellis, who is corporate vice president of specialty pharmacy and infusion at Walgreens, said in a statement. “The board of directors intends that NASP become the voice of specialty pharmacy in the United States and an effective representative of the entire industry and the patients we serve.”

NASP also is launching a new web site at NASPnet.org. Contact information is available on the site.

“NASP will continue to focus on education and collaboration in specialty pharmacy,” stated NASP vice president Burt Zweigenhaft, vice chairman of Onco360. “We will continue to represent all stakeholders, and we look forward to a successful annual meeting at the Gaylord National Harbor in 2015, just across the Potomac River from our new headquarters office.”

He added, “NASP is adding advocacy to its core mission, and to do that effectively we need to be in the Washington, D.C., area.”

NASP represents all stakeholders in the specialty pharmacy industry. The association has nearly 70 corporate members and more than 1,000 professionals, representing specialty pharmacies; pharmacy benefit managers; health plans; pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers; and group purchasing organizations and distributors, among others.