SHORT HILLS, N.J., March 17, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Armada Health Care announced today, that nearly 1,000 participants attended the 2009 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Only four short years ago, Armada organized its inaugural Specialty Pharmacy Summit with a little more than twenty attendees. Since then, the Armada Summit has grown to become the industry's leading national event for the specialty pharmacy channel. This meeting has grown by attracting not only the nation's leading specialty pharmacy providers, but also a variety of industry stakeholders including the major pharmaceutical/biotech manufacturers, distributors and national payors.
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Mr. Stanley Blaylock, President of Walgreens Health Services delivered the 2009 Keynote address to a standing room only General Session audience. Blaylock spoke on "The Specialty Pharmacy Landscape for 2009 and Beyond" and offered his in-depth assessment as a leader of an organization with more than 6,000 community-based pharmacies, integrated specialty pharmacy outlets, and an array of other fully complementary health care services. His message focused on a number of key challenges facing the specialty pharmacy industry including the impact of the current economy, increasing regulation, the emergence of biosimilars, and pricing pressures from virtually every customer segment. He concluded that the opportunities in specialty pharmacy far outweigh the risks, especially due to a pipeline ripe with new, hard-to-manage biotherapies, a demand for increased quality and appropriateness, and a delivery model that is evolving to meet these needs.
The Armada Summit also offered attendees ample networking opportunities through dedicated exhibit times with all of the participating vendors. The three day conference also included dozens of business sessions and educational programs focused on a variety of important specialty pharmacy subjects. Mr. Lawrence Irene, CEO of Armada commented, "We are thrilled with the turnout of this year's Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit. The overwhelming interest shared by so many validates our vision for the specialty pharmacy channel. We look forward to continuing to expand our specialty pharmacy channel management programs in 2009 and beyond."
The Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit was held at the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, NV on March 10-13, 2009.
The 2009 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5681
About Armada Health Care
Armada Health Care has created the nation's largest organization for comprehensive access to the specialty pharmacy market. Armada offers channel management solutions and customized programs that benefit specialty pharmacy providers, pharma/biotech manufactures, payors and most important, patients. In 2008, Armada members dispensed more than $15 Billion of specialty prescriptions.
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