Expanding opportunities with EnvisionRx

Rite Aid’s latest acquisition, the PBM EnvisionRx, significantly expands opportunities across two of the fastest growing sectors of healthcare— Medicare Part D and specialty pharmacy.

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“One of the things we’re really excited about is that EnvisionRx has its own insurance company, which puts us into the Part D business,” John Standley, Rite Aid chairman and CEO, explained to Drug Store News. Beginning in 2017, the acquisition will elevate Rite Aid’s participation in the Part D arena from a participating pharmacy across two regionals and one national network to a plan sponsor. “We’re going to need some strategic partners to fill out our map,” Standley said, “but we’re pretty excited to be competing in the Part D space.”



EnvisionRx’s Orchard Pharmaceutical Services also expands Rite Aid’s access to limited-distribution specialty drugs tenfold, from five to 50. “When we look at the drug pipeline, specialty makes up a lot of what’s coming to market over the next few years,” Standley said. “We have some work to do from the contracting perspective, and there’s probably some additional drugs we’ll want to add to Orchard’s formulary over time. But it’s a huge step in the right direction for us,” Standley told DSN. “And it’s a market that’s very hard to get into.”



When paired with Rite Aid’s other recent acquisitions, such as RediClinic and Health Dialog, EnvisionRx contributes to a compelling suite of services for health payers. “We now have population management capabilities with Health Dialog, and we now have a lot of compliance and clinical capabilities,” Standley said. Adding EnvisionRx to the broad retail capabilities Rite Aid already has will enable it to manage high-cost patients, improving outcomes through adherence initiatives and disease-state coaching.



Rite Aid closed the deal on EnvisionRx last month for approximately $2 billion, including some $1.8 billion in cash and about 27.9 million Rite Aid shares.



EnvisionRx will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rite Aid led by Frank Sheehy, EnvisionRx CEO, and the PBM’s current management team. EnvisionRx’s headquarters will remain in Twinsburg, Ohio.