Kroger, a Cincinnati-based supermarket chain, announced on March 19 the sale of its specialty pharmacy business to CarelonRx, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based health insurer Elevance Health.
Kroger’s specialty pharmacy serves patients with chronic illnesses that require complex care. Those illnesses include rheumatoid arthritis, growth hormone deficiencies, multiple sclerosis and bleeding disorders. Patients and prescribers work with skilled clinicians and access therapy programs through the specialty pharmacy to gain education, resources and counseling. Patients can also get help with side-effect management, financial assistance and personalized care. Kroger has owned the specialty pharmacy business since 2012, the same year it acquired specialty pharmacy Axium Pharmacy Holdings.
CarelonRx is a Morristown, New Jersey-based pharmacy benefit manager that uses meaningful data to create personalized pharmacy care.
Kroger expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2024 and does not anticipate it having any effect on its financial guidance. The specialty pharmacy business is separate from Kroger’s in-store retail pharmacies and The Little Clinics, neither of which is part of the transaction. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, this transaction represents the sixth specialty pharmacy acquisition of 2024. By comparison, between January 1, 2023 and March 19, 2023, there were four specialty pharmacy transactions announced. There were 15 specialty pharmacy transactions announced during 2023, and 27 announced during 2022.
