Tracleer and PPH News
Accredo Health Signs Exclusive Five-year Specialty Pharmacy Agreement for Flolan
MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Accredo Health Group, Inc., the nation's largest specialty pharmacy operation, today announced an exclusive five-year agreement as the sole specialty pharmacy for Flolan(R) (epoprostenol sodium), a medication prescribed to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Financial terms of the agreement, which were effective April 1, were not disclosed.
"This relationship ensures that patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension -- a debilitating condition requiring precise, uninterrupted around-the-clock clinical management -- receive this crucial medication through best-in-class specialty pharmacy services provided by Accredo's highly trained pharmacists and nurses," said Tim Wentworth, president and CEO, Accredo. "PAH demands a closely coordinated continuum of care that integrates special handling and timely delivery of the medication, detailed clinical management, and personalized oversight by specially trained pharmacists and nurses - the cornerstones of Accredo's approach to specialty pharmacy care."
Under the agreement, Accredo will provide specialty pharmacy management and prescription fulfillment service through its network of 32 pharmacies, each with dedicated PAH pharmacists and nurses, National Distribution Center, and National Customer Support Center. This network can help improve care and treatment for patients with PAH, while reducing long-term costs associated with inconsistent therapy management practices.
Accredo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medco Health Solutions, Inc., is the only specialty pharmacy with 12 years' experience in providing service to PAH patients. The National Customer Support Center is staffed 24/7 by Cardiopulmonary Nurse Clinicians with access to a patient's electronic medical records in order to most appropriately assist them, their caregivers and physicians. Other services provided by Accredo for patients receiving Flolan includes benefit coordination, patient education, prescriber support, and product dispensing and compliance management.
About Flolan
Flolan is a specialty medication marketed by Myogen, Inc. used to treat late-stage pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung disorder in which the blood pressure in the artery leading to the lungs rises to an unusually high level and can lead to heart failure. PAH causes the muscles within the walls of the arteries to tighten and thicken, narrowing blood flow, and also causes tiny blood clots to form in smaller arteries, causing blockages. Under poor management or left untreated, PAH can lead to the need for a lung transplant, can cause the right side of the heart to lose its ability to pump enough blood for the body's needs, and often is fatal. According to market analysis, less than 20,000 individuals are currently diagnosed and receiving treatment for PAH. This number is expected to increase 10-15% each year for the next few years due to increased physician awareness and treatment options.
Flolan is delivered in a powdered form that must be protected from light and reconstituted with a sterile diluent. Once reconstituted, the medication is infused continuously through a permanent indwelling central venous catheter linked to a small, portable infusion pump. Thus, Flolan therapy requires comprehensive patient education, critical clinical management, and timely delivery of medication; even brief interruptions in the administration of Flolan may result in rapid symptomatic deterioration.
About Accredo
Accredo Health Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Medco Health Solutions, Inc., is the nation's largest specialty pharmacy operation, providing specialized pharmacy and related services pursuant to agreements with biotechnology drug manufacturers relating to the treatment of patients with certain costly, chronic diseases. Accredo's services include collection of timely drug utilization and patient compliance information, patient education and monitoring through the use of written materials and telephonic consultation, reimbursement expertise and overnight drug delivery.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors section of the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. on March 3, 2006.
Website: http://www.medco.com/
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