United Drug boosts British presence

UNITED Drug has increased its presence in the British home-based pharmacy care market by signing a joint venture agreement with US company, Medco Health Solutions.

The new company, which will go under the Medco name, will work with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) and directly supply its customers with a suite of homecare services ranging from home delivery of prescription medication to on-site nursing for certain treatments.

The homecare services market represents around £1 billion (€1.16bn) of Britain’s total annual prescription drug spend and the NHS provides services for more than 95% of British residents.

“Our experienced healthcare professionals, advanced distribution capability and deep NHD knowledge will complement Medco’s innovative technologies, clinical expertise and financial resources to accelerate our ability to deliver these critical capabilities across the UK and meet the NHS’ goals of providing world class care,” according to United Drug chief executive Liam Fitzgerald.

The Dublin-headquartered drug wholesale and healthcare services group already has a presence, under its own name, in the British homecare market, but only on a pilot basis to date. That work is likely to be brought under the wing of the new joint venture.

The new deal drew positive coverage from analysts yesterday, with the general consensus being that it will be a relatively cost-friendly move (with start-up costs of around £5m) and will add to both companies’ long-term profits.

“We think that this is a smart move for United Drug, not least because of the quality of the partner involved. . . Medco’s muscle, aligned with United Drug’s capabilities, should help the new entity enter the market in a meaningful way,” said Davy Stockbrokers’ Barry Gallagher.