13th Aug 2009 07:00
United Drug Joint Venture announcement
United Drug, Medco Health Solutions Announce U.K. Homecare Pharmacy Joint Venture Serving Patients with Chronic and Complex Health Conditions;
Innovations to Improve Clinical Quality, Reduce Costs
UDG.I UDG.L
Dublin, London and Franklin Lakes, N.J. -13 August 2009: United Drug plc, a leading international provider of services to healthcare manufacturers and pharmaceutical retailers today announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE:MHS) to provide home-based pharmacy care services in the United Kingdom for patients covered by the country's National Health Service (NHS).
The joint venture, which will operate in the U.K. as Medco Health Solutions, plans to offer patients treated within the NHS system a comprehensive suite of homecare services ranging from prescription drug dispensing and home-delivery, to on-site nursing for the administration of oral, injectable and infused agents, and case-management capabilities.
The joint venture company will work closely with the NHS to ensure the service offerings fully meet the U.K. health system's requirements, while providing high quality clinical care and helping the NHS to moderate costs.
"United Drug's experienced healthcare professionals, advanced distribution capability and deep NHS knowledge complement Medco's innovative technologies, clinical expertise and financial resources to accelerate our ability to deliver these critical capabilities across the United Kingdom and meet NHS' goals of providing world-class care" said Liam FitzGerald, Chief Executive of United Drug.
John Driscoll, president, New Markets, Medco Health Solutions added "We share the NHS' urgent imperative to provide a broad spectrum of advanced services associated with the treatment of patients with chronic and complex conditions. Homecare pharmacy services have a proven track record for delivering quality, choice and convenience -providing an exceptional patient experience that is also financially responsible".
Homecare pharmacy services currently comprise about £1 billion of the U.K.'s prescription drug spending. Over the past five years, investments associated with these services have grown at an annual rate exceeding 20 percent.
The NHS provides healthcare services for more than 95 percent of the U.K.'s 60 million residents. The companies estimate that as much as 96 percent of all pharmacy costs and 70 percent of overall healthcare costs in the U.K. are related to the care of patients with chronic and complex conditions. Where appropriate, providing the support and infrastructure that enables care to transfer from the hospital or clinic to the home fundamentally lowers the cost curve, while at the same time increasing access to focused and facilitated care - improving patient outcomes.
ENDS Thursday, 13 August 2009
For reference:
Liam FitzGerald Pauline McAlester
Barry Mc Grane Murray Consultants
United Drug plc
Tel: +353-1-4632300 Tel: +353-1-4980300
About Medco Inc.
Medco Health Solutions, Inc (NYSE:MHS) is pioneering the world's most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter for more than 60 million Americans.
With more than 20,000 employees dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and private sector clients in the United States and a growing number of international healthcare initiatives, Medco ranks 45th on the Fortune 500 list, and is named among the world's most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies.
For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.
About United Drug plc
Listed on the Stock Exchanges in London and Dublin, United Drug is a leading international provider of services to healthcare manufacturers and pharmaceutical retailers, with operations in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and the USA. The Company has a long-term track record of delivering double-digit profit, earnings and dividend growth.
The Company operates across three divisions, Healthcare Supply Chain, Packaging & Speciality Services, and Contract Sales & Marketing Services.
United Drug is the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the island of Ireland. It is the market leader in contract distribution outsourcing (pre-wholesaling) in Ireland and has achieved the No. 1 position in the UK through its joint venture business UniDrug Distribution (UDG). Through its Medical & Scientific business, United Drug provides sales & marketing and technical service solutions, including contract distribution services to a wide range of Medical & Scientific equipment & consumable manufacturers, in the UK and Ireland.
The Company provides distribution related services in the areas of pharmaceutical contract packaging and speciality distribution and is one of the largest international providers of contract packaging outsourced services for the pharmaceutical industry with operations in the US, UK, Holland and Belgium.
United Drug is also a leading provider of contract sales outsourcing and related marketing services to pharmaceutical manufacturers in the UK and Ireland and also provides these services in the US market.
For more information go to http://www.united-drug.ie
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