By combining the companies, Adheris will now have a network of more than 40 pharmacy chain partners composed of 30,000 pharmacies representing 65% of all retail prescriptions. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Mark Dmytruk, president of inVentiv Health Patient Outcomes, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the acquisition will allow the newly formed company, under the name of Adheris, to send patients messages or refill reminders via mail, e-mail, mobile, or via a doctor’s office or through the pharmacy.
“Both of the companies are pioneers and individual leaders in the adherence space and no other company that has the ability to message patients at this scope,” Dmytruk said. The company will also have the capability of messaging through e-prescribing partners, or by setting up information that a doctor can hand to a patient on the drug that they just prescribed.
The adherence programs are sponsored by pharma manufacturers or managed care plans that “have a vested interest in ensuring the patient take the drug as prescribed,” he added, noting that he thinks managed care plans will increase its presence in this market over the next few years.
“In the past 12 months or so, the whole idea of patient centricity has become a much bigger deal, whereas pharma was more concerned in the past with the doctor writing the prescription – now they are much more concerned with the patient outcome,” he said, noting the recent uptick in the use of buzzwords like, “Beyond the pill strategies.”
As far as layoffs in combining Adheris with Catalina, Dmytruk said he doesn’t “anticipate anything significant. But any time you combine businesses, the management team will have to take a look” at overlap between the companies.
In terms of integration, he added that both companies’ products will be combined over the next six to 12 months, though certain aspects of establishing the senior management team have already been set. Renee Selman, President of Catalina Health, will lead the combined business.