Thursday's results marked the fifth consecutive quarter in which Rite Aid increased its same-store sales. And at the rate it's currently going, there's a good chance the country's third-largest retail pharmacy chain soon could become profitable, even though it expected to post losses in 2013, albeit even smaller losses than in 2012.

In the wake of an approved Express Scripts-Medco merger, Walgreens reiterated its consensus that Walgreens' participation in Medco's pharmacy network would continue without disruption.

Comments made by Express Scripts president and CEO George Paz after the pharmacy benefit manager's earnings call last week has garnered some attention from a coalition that is looking to stop the merger between ESI and fellow PBM Medco Health Solutions.

Pharmacy and identical-store sales were identified as positives for Safeway, which discussed its fourth-quarter results with analysts on Thursday.

The regulatory review of the Express Scripts-Medco merger now is in its final stages, and with the clock ticking down to that 30-day deadline, you can expect a full court-press from retail pharmacy interests looking to block the deal.

Procter & Gamble announced on Friday that second-quarter net sales and organic sales rose 4% as net earnings dropped 49%.

As Walgreens girds itself for life outside of the Express Scripts pharmacy network, company executives, over the course of a Wednesday morning first-quarter conference call, continued to maintain that they, along with healthcare payers and employers, will be better off for it.

During the question-and-answer session of Rite Aid’s third-quarter earnings call, president and CEO John Standley responded to a question about the Wellness+ loyalty card program by saying, “We continue to try and evolve and grow the program. We’re obviously learning a lot as we go.”

When someone says “pharmacy automation and technology,” the image that most likely springs to mind is a pharmacy robot dispensing pills in a bottle or pharmacists managing operations or looking at patients’ medical records and electronic prescriptions with the latest pharmacy software.


Johnson & Johnson Tuesday morning pledged significant support behind the relaunch of several McNeil Consumer products into the marketplace in 2012, and feels confident impacted brands — Tylenol and Motrin, among others — will be able to recapture market share, despite significant private-label erosion.

Wrapping up its 113th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition, the National Community Pharmacists Association on Tuesday outlined the association's key initiatives and programs heading into 2012.

Southeastern discount banner Fred's on Thursday morning reported that the consumer continues to be challenged by economic pressures.