Dept. Pharmacy

  1. Data & Insights
Abracadabra! Small pharmacies have ghosted Medicare Part D’s preferred networks—no farewell party, no breakup text, just a quiet exit. A few months ago , DCI highlighted how the largest pharmacy chains are participating as preferred cost sharing pharmacies in the 2025 stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) networks. Today, we update our exclusive analysis of how […]
  1. Technology & Innovation
We’re joined by fellow Retail Voices by NRF honoree Kevin Ervin Kelley to unpack some of the key lessons from his remarkable book Irreplaceable: Creating Extraordinary Places That Bring People Together and his recent NRF “Big Show” talk. We discuss how physical retail must dramatically evolve in an ever more digital world, the “Bonfire Effect,” his […]
  1. Department: HBC
Today’s guest post comes from Richard Faris, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy. Richard outlines the key factors for commercialization success when a manufacturer launches treatments for rare and orphan diseases. He explains the key considerations for choosing a specialty pharmacy network design, selecting the right pharmacy partners, and establishing patient services […]
  1. Channel: Specialty & Other
Tractor Supply will open 90 new namesake stores and a total of 10 new Petsense by Tractor Supply Stores this year, along with the addition of the rural-oriented retailer’s 11th distribution center (DC). Tractor Supply currently operates more than 2,500 stores, and in December 2024 the retailer revealed its long-term goal of eventually operating 3,200 […]
  1. Channel: Drug
CVS has launched a new app designed to serve as a one-stop shop for customers to do everything from managing their prescriptions and vaccinations to accessing coupons and opening locked display cases in stores. “As a company, we are super focused on improving the health care experience,” said Tilak Mandadi, EVP at CVS Health in […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
Get ready to climb a Crisco-covered light pole! DCI’s hometown Philadelphia Eagles are going to Super Bowl LIX! Go E-L-G-S-E-S! (No, that’s not a typo.) Before you overturn any cars, please enjoy this month’s playbook of articles, intercepted for you from the Drug Channels gridiron: Touchdown! How Mark Cuban would quarterback the U.S. healthcare system  […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
For 2025, the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—Caremark (CVS Health), Express Scripts (Cigna), and Optum Rx (United Health Group)—have again each excluded hundreds of drugs from their standard formularies. You can find our updated counting below. As you’ll see below, the combination of formulary exclusion and private labels is creating an increasingly confusing and […]
  1. Channel: Drug
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil suit against Walgreens alleging that the pharmacy retailer dispensed millions of unlawful prescriptions for opioids despite “clear red flags that indicated the prescriptions were highly likely to be unlawful,” according to a statement by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice […]
  1. Media & Marketing
[[{“value”:” SMI Core data captures the actual spend data from the SMI Pool partners of major holding companies and large independent agencies, representing up to 95% of all US national brand ad spending, to provide a complete monthly view of the SMI Pool market size, investment share and category performance. Core Data delivers detailed ad intelligence across all […]
  1. Media & Marketing
[[“value”:” SMI Core data captures the actual spend data from the SMI Pool partners of major holding companies and large independent agencies, representing up to 95% of all US national brand ad spending, to provide a complete monthly view of the SMI Pool market size, investment share and category performance. Core Data delivers detailed ad intelligence across all […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
During my recent Drug Channels Outlook 2025 video webinar, I tackled a wide range of crucial topics—including the controversial 340B Drug Pricing Program. As I explain in this video excerpt, we may finally see reform of this rapidly expanding program. What’s more, implementing the Inflation Reduction Act will disrupt the current operations of the 340B […]
  1. Corporate Strategy
The inaugural Drug Channels Leadership Forum (DCLF) is coming soon! This exclusive event will be held from March 17 to 19, 2025, at the Turnberry Resort and Spa in Miami. Our first event will provide attendees with an opportunity to explore the most pressing strategic issues and crucial uncertainties that will impact all participants across […]
  1. Media & Marketing
Happy New Year, everyone! It’s been a huge year for Drug Channels Institute (DCI). In January, HMP Global acquired DCI. Thanks to our new friends at HMP, we will hold the Drug Channels Leadership Forum. This landmark event will take place in March 2025 in Miami. (If you haven’t done so yet, click here to […]
  1. Media & Marketing
This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for Friday’s Drug Channels Outlook 2025 live video webinar. During the webinar, I’ll provide an update the 340B program, which continues to defy gravity. Click here to see the original post. In my recent The 340B Drug Pricing Program: Trends, Controversies, and Outlook video webinar, I […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for Friday’s Drug Channels Outlook 2025 live video webinar. Click here to see the original post. As you reread the article below, note that some manufacturers have already announced wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) list price declines for 2025. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
In Medicare Part D in 2025: Preferred Pharmacy Networks Fade in a Collapsing PDP Market, I documented the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) disruption to Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs). Today, we examine the seven largest retail chains’ participation in the 12 major 2025 Part D networks that the five largest plan sponsors will […]
  1. Department: Food
Industrial cooling systems are typically associated with warehouses and large scale food storage facilities, but their applications are far more diverse and essential than many realise. From preserving delicate artwork in galleries to ensuring the quality of beverages in breweries, industrial cooling plays a pivotal role across various sectors. In retail, these systems have become […]
  1. Retailer Media
The CPG Guys are joined by Lauren Steinberg, SVP of Retail Media, Loyalty & Digital at Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, the nation’s largest retailer, and the majority unit holder of Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust. Loblaw – and its portfolio of grocery, health and beauty, financial services and apparel businesses […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
Uh oh. As I predicted, the stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDP) market is vanishing. For 2025, DCI’s exclusive analysis of Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) data reveals that the number of PDPs will drop to a historic low. What’s more, the share of plans with a preferred cost sharing pharmacy […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., president of Drug Channels Institute (DCI) and the author of Drug Channels, invites you to join him for DCI’s new live video webinar: Drug Channels Outlook 2025 This event will be broadcast live on Friday, December 13, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET This post describes the event and […]
  1. Data & Insights
Here on Drug Channels, we have long highlighted the boom in provider-administered biosimilars. In contrast to the pharmacy market, adoption of these biosimilars is growing, prices are dropping, and formulary barriers continue to fall. Novel transparency information reveals that this good news doesn’t always translate into savings. Below, we rely on a unique data set […]
  1. Shopper & Customer
We see the ads everywhere: Ozempic. WeGovy. Rybelsus. Mounjaro. They are on our televisions. Filling up our social media feeds. In Super Bowl spots. Relative newcomers like Ro and Hers – low cost versions from the two telemedicine giants – are plastered on billboards and ads in the trains I take regularly in NYC. Even […]
  1. Department: Nonfood
Tractor Supply will purchase the privately held online pet pharmacy Allivet in an all-cash transaction that the retailer plans to fund through its balance sheet. Purchase price information for the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2025, was not released. For the past several years, Tractor Supply has offered digital pet pharmacy services […]
  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital
Walmart has begun integrating prescription medications into its delivery offerings in six states, with plans to expand to 49 states by the end of January 2025. Customers in Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Wisconsin can now add their prescriptions to orders placed online or via the Walmart app. When the program is […]
  1. Channel: Specialty & Other
​[[{“value”:” Dive Brief The move expands the retailer’s market opportunity. Meanwhile, new locations spurred Q3 sales, as store comps and net income declined. Published Oct. 25, 2024 A Tractor Supply store. The retailer is expanding further beyond traditional farm retail to focus on pet owners and gardeners. “Tractor Supply Company” by Mike Mozart is licensed […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
Reality has again failed to support the spin surrounding the 340B Drug Pricing Program. For 2023, discounted purchases under the 340B program reached a record $66.3 billion—an astounding $12.6 billion (+23.4%) higher than its 2022 counterpart. The gross-to-net difference between list prices and discounted 340B purchases also grew, to $57.8 billion (+$5.5 billion). 340B purchases […]

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  1. Data & Insights
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  3. Media & Marketing
  4. Data & Insights
  5. Shopper & Customer
1-800-Flowers still leads in US, FTD is gaining share 1-800-Flowers is the largest flower service by sales headed into Valentine’s Day 2025, according to Earnest credit card data. However, the industry stalwart is likely to lose share this season if recent trends continue. Access chart in Dash. 1-800-Flowers commanded 37.0% of Valentine’s Day flower sales […]
  1. Holiday & Events
  2. Holiday & Events
A good number of consumers, over 77%, believe there are better deals available after the holidays, and nearly 51% plan to take advantage by making a large purchase in late December and January. Those are top findings from a Holiday Green survey, from CouponCabin, regarding consumer habits in the post-holiday time frame. When it comes to post-holiday […]
  1. Trends & External Forces
  2. Data & Insights
  3. Technology & Innovation
  4. Trends & External Forces
IAB’s 2025 Outlook: A Snapshot into Ad Spend, Opportunities, and Strategies for Growth offering an early glimpse into ad spending trends for the coming year. The report is a must-read to gain and understanding of brand and agency buyers’ growth strategies and the challenges they foresee. The report covers: 2025 projections for the market overall […]
  1. Data & Insights
  2. Technology & Innovation
There’s been a lot of talk lately about artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) and how these technologies are going to revolutionize retail. But the retail revolution can’t be accomplished with sweeping generalizations about putting more technology into stores. Successful retail outcomes are built using technology to solve specific challenges, expanding on wins and […]

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