Diplomat, Commcare named top companies by Inc. magazine

NEW YORK Specialty pharmacies Commcare Pharmacy and Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy have earned the respective 235th and 374th places on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States.

This goes to show how rapidly the specialty pharmacy industry has grown thanks to its focus on complex illnesses and medication regimens that traditional pharmacies are mostly unable to support, growing 8.8% last year, compared to 4.4% for traditional pharmacies, while specialty drugs had nearly $60 billion in U.S. sales.

But specialty pharmacy can also give independent pharmacies without a large front end a good way to make money, with its emphasis on profitable biotech drugs and closer interaction between the patient and pharmacist, allowing the mom-and-pop street corner pharmacy to carve a niche for itself while the chain pharmacy down the road continues to serve traditional drug store functions.