AmerisourceBergen showcases service role: show draws record numbers

Drug Store News, August 18, 2003 by James Frederick

LAS VEGAS -- For AmerisourceBergen, bigger is indeed better.

That's the message company officials brought to thousands of pharmacy owners, suppliers and guests during the second annual AmerisourceBergen National Healthcare Conference and Expo here July 17 to 20. With a massive exhibition of service programs, a trade show and a packed schedule of business sessions, continuing education seminars and entertainment, the big drug distributor and pharmacy services company showcased a slew of new offerings to back up its bigger-is-better theme.

"We think this is the largest assemblage of independents and regional chains that's ever occurred," said AmerisourceBergen chief executive officer R. David Yost as the company approached the second anniversary of the merger of AmeriSource and Bergen Brunswig. The 6,000 total attendees, he said during a press briefing at the event, included some 2,100 pharmacy owners and enough suppliers to fill a 50,000-square-foot exhibition hall.

"We have more than 700 new accounts this year, which is a big increase," added Kurt Hilzinger, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The growth in attendance, due in great part to word-of-mouth from last year's attendees, Yost said, included more regional chain representatives as "the line between independents and regional chains gets blurred.

"You will not see the national warehousing chains here," he said, "but you will see many other chains ... in the 10-, 15- or 20-store category." And among the larger chains were Longs Drug Stores, Raley's, Medicine Shoppe and Medicap Pharmacies.

The event was held against a backdrop of slowing sales growth for both independent and chain pharmacy. "We do think the industry in 2003 is slowing down from its historic level to a low double-digit growth rate, as opposed to the high double-digit rate we've had in the last couple of years," Yost acknowledged. "But we think that's a temporary phenomenon. New products in the drug pipeline and huge investments in R&D [by pharmaceutical manufacturers] are going to serve this group of health care professionals very, very well."

In addition, he said, "We do think that Medicare pharmaceutical coverage is clearly coming, and [independent and small chain pharmacy] needs to be ready."

In short, Yost said, "We're bullish on the industry, and we're bullish on retail."

AmerisourceBergen executives especially were pleased with the growing interest the show is drawing from major pharmaceutical manufacturers, more than a dozen of which set up large-scale booths at the show.

"One of the problems with the independents and the regional chains is they sometimes feel a little disenfranchised by the big pharma companies because they don't get to see them. So we set up little informational booths, called the Rx Marketplace, before the show opens. And it gives the pharmacist/owners an opportunity to talk to representatives of the big branded and generic drug companies on a clinical basis about product information and other things."

Leveling the playing field

Conference attendees got a first look at a slew of new service and technology offerings from the company. Among them: a new program, called Rebate Rx, to help its customers capture rebates from drug makers for the prescriptions they fill; an upgraded patient-interactive Web site for its Diabetes Shoppe program; and a new Preferred Customer Card program.

Launched in late June, Rebate Rx has scored quickly among independents eager to participate in the rebate programs available to larger retail pharmacy operators and PBMs. "In eight weeks, we've signed 2,500 pharmacies," said David Neu, senior vice president of retail sales and marketing. He called the program a tremendous opportunity for a new source of income" for the wholesaler's independent pharmacy clients.

By combining the dispensing power of thousands of independent pharmacies, AmerisourceBergen has been able to obtain rebates from major pharmaceutical manufacturers previously only available to large chains," the company noted.

"We have a universe of 12,000 prospective members," added Dan Ramirez, Pharm.D., corporate vice president of program management. "Rebate Rx could become the largest rebate network in the pharmaceutical industry."

Among other offerings, the Preferred Customer Card program, shown to most ABC customers for the first time at the show, was established to offer discounts to consumers on prescriptions obtained at any of the company's Good Neighbor Pharmacy or Family Pharmacy stores. "This program offers significant savings to Medicare recipients and other consumers who do not have [prescription] coverage," said George Saunders, Pharm.D., corporate vice president of pharmacy services. It's available at participating GNP or Family Pharmacy stores for a suggested annual membership fee of $20 per patient.

ABC also showcased its Performance Plus Network, which now combines the market power of 3,500 independent and chain pharmacies around the United States as a network to pharmacy benefit management organizations and managed care plans. The program was set up to help ABC member stores capture third party business, negotiate reimbursements more effectively through greater leverage, and centralize time-consuming functions, such as contract administration.