Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy Celebrates Successful First Year

Specialty pharmacy programs helped members save approximately $11 million on high cost specialty medicines, reduced medicine misuse.

Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), celebrated the one year anniversary of the opening of its specialty pharmacy this month in

Orlando, Florida.

Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy's (Prime Specialty Pharmacy) experienced staff filled prescriptions for 30,000 members in the past year. But, perhaps its most notable accomplishment is that Prime Specialty Pharmacy helped members save approximately

$11 million

in just six months, by connecting people with special offers and patient assistance programs that help lower out of pocket costs. Helping members take advantage of these cost-reducing measures is vitally important because the high cost of specialty medicines has been shown to interfere with medication adherence.

Prime Specialty Pharmacy helps its members obtain specialty medicines and manage complex health conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. It offers a full suite of specialty pharmacy services, including care management, insurance billing and delivery of specialty medicines.

It opened its doors in

August 2012

with a staff of 81 and immediately began serving members of three Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Since filling its first prescription (a self-injectable therapy used to treat multiple sclerosis), the specialty pharmacy has doubled in size and now has a staff of more than 160 in

Orlando

and another 60 in

Eagan, Minnesota.

— primarily customer service representatives, information technology professionals, pharmacists, nurses, and administrative support staff. It now serves 15 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans as well as several large, regional and national employers. Sales for Prime Specialty Pharmacy are expected to reach

$1 billion

in 2013.

"We've had an exciting and extremely successful first year in

Orlando

as we've expanded many of our key specialty offerings, increased our client base, and become a preferred pharmacy to manage specialty drugs," said Duane Barnes, Prime's senior vice president, consumer delivery. "Our specialty pharmacy has helped members achieve significant savings on high cost drugs and worked with our specialty pharmacists and nurses to prevent medication misuse, which is critical because our most important job is keeping members safe."

Specialty drug costs are predicted to rise to 50% of commercially insured total drug costs by 2018. As such, Prime Specialty Pharmacy is taking significant steps to help health plans and employers best care for members, control costs and manage the use of expensive specialty drugs. The specialty pharmacy has added several capabilities and enhancements, such as coordinating and integrating Prime Therapeutics Medical Drug Review (MDR), a program designed to ensure members receive the right drug delivered in a way that offers the best personalized care. MDR is currently available for 60 drug therapies.

Prime Specialty Pharmacy also expanded its access to certain specialty drugs. When the specialty pharmacy opened its doors, it had access to only one key limited distribution drug. Today, it has access to more than 40 limited distribution drugs that prevent or treat complex conditions such as multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, hepatitis C, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

Several accreditation entities recognized Prime Specialty Pharmacy this past year for providing high quality care and service for members with complex illnesses. They include: the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), URAC, and the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).

Prime Specialty Pharmacy staff celebrated the one-year anniversary by giving back to their community. They participated in an onsite blood drive through OneBlood Inc. to benefit

Central Florida

and collected enough blood to save more than 45 lives. They also held a speed volunteering event during a lunch celebration, where they packed more than 200 gift bags for children and approximately 60 care bags for parents of children at Florida Hospital for Children.

"

Orlando

has been an excellent partner over the past year and we greatly appreciate the support we've received in delivering superior customer experiences and keeping medicines more affordable for our members," Barnes said. "We look forward to what the next year will bring as we continue working to help people get the medicine they need to feel better and live well."

About Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy

Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy LLC is dedicated to making it easier for members to obtain specialty medicines and manage complex conditions. The company offers a full suite of specialty pharmacy services, from care management to insurance billing to delivery of specialty medicines. Based in

Orlando, Fla.

, Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy LLC is wholly owned by Prime Therapeutics LLC. For more information, visit https://www.primetherapeutics.com/specialty or follow @Prime_PBM on Twitter.

SOURCE Prime Therapeutics