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CVS Health is ending its clinical trials business that it started two years ago.
“We continually evaluate our asset portfolio to ensure it is aligned with our long-term strategic priorities,” said Mike DeAngelis, executive director of CVS Corporate Communications, in a statement. “As a result, we plan to phase out and fully terminate our clinical trial services business by December 31, 2024. We are working with our study sponsors to ensure a smooth transition and continuity. Minimize patient care and disruption. In parallel, we are working to support our affected colleagues and provide career transition support for employees who are unable to find another role within CVS Health. ”
why this matters
The closure of the clinical trials business is part of an effort to focus on its core business, he said. endpoint news.
CVS introduced CVS Health clinical trial services in May 2021. Said It will make clinical trials research more accessible and effective, and promote more equitable participation.
Although research relies on clinically appropriate volunteers, 80% of trials fail to meet enrollment deadlines, and an average of 30% of enrolled subjects drop out due to reasons such as inconvenient study location or duration. CVS said yes.
CVS Health says its model combines precision patient recruitment from diverse populations, saying, “We have conducted hundreds of home clinical trials, screened hundreds of thousands of people, and We have contributed by working with pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies, and by working with medical institutions in the same industry.” Reviewed research publications. ”
This includes working with the pharmaceutical industry to facilitate clinical trials of investigational COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Using digital models and screening, CVS Health has identified more than 300,000 volunteers and linked them to accessible research.
One year later, in June 2022, the Walgreens Boots Alliance will launched Developing its own clinical trial business.
the bigger trend
On May 10, Sean Gartin, CFO and Executive Vice President of CVS Health, spoke at the 2023 Bank of America Securities Healthcare Conference about the headwinds and tailwinds for business.
According to Seeking Alpha, Gertin did not mention the closure of the clinical trials business. transcript Dated May 14th.
One of the tailwinds Gertin cited revolves around changes to 340B, a program aimed at providing discounted medicines to hospitals with vulnerable populations. Guertin said CVS participated as a custodian of these reduced claims and also as a contract pharmacy.
The court’s decision was interpreted to allow manufacturers to significantly narrow the definition of contract. pharmacy This may result in a valid 340B claim being waived and litigation is ongoing. This has reduced the number of his 340B claims occurring across the system, Guertin said.
The contribution to COVID-19 is also “decreasing rapidly,” he said.
The performance was boosted by the early completion of the acquisition of the company. Oak Street Health Earlier this month, CVS’s Signify Health also Acquisition This will update the guidance to the $8.50 to $8.70 range, Gartin said.
“So when we think about our core business, we exclude the two recent acquisitions because when we think about our core business, when we think about everything we do, we want to go back to those. We’ve been talking about the Stars headwinds in 2024, the losses on the PBM contracts, the two things I mentioned earlier, and if you do that and your adjusted operating profit is going to be something like thinking about. 2024 is about flat, almost flat,” he said.
CVS reportedly suffered a $2 billion revenue hit from a decline in its Medicare Advantage star rating and the loss of Centene’s pharmacy contract to Express Scripts last year.
CVS in 2021 announced It plans to close 900 stores over three years to provide more medical services in the remaining stores.
Gartin said CVS has closed more than 400 stores.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org