Medco to expand comp effectiveness reach

Modern Healthcare: "Pharmacy-benefit manager Medco Health Solutions' recent announcement of plans to acquire United BioSource Corp. for $730 million has many wondering if this will be the first of many companies seeking to extend their reach in the growing comparative effectiveness market.  United BioSource, based in Bethesda, Md., specializes in analyzing the safety and effectiveness of drugs and medical devices in the post-approval phase. ... Medco has done some internal comparative effectiveness and safety studies, including one involving the heart attack and stroke prevention drug Plavix. This latest move, however, takes its clinical involvement to a new level, analysts say" (McKinney, 8/23).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.