BioRx – Transforming Specialty Pharmaceutical Distribution
An innovative specialty pharmacy service provider with 100% commitment to high-quality patient service that is helping to reduce costs and improve quality of life for patients.
Business Model
BioRx is a provider of specialty pharmacy services to patients with chronic, often rare, diseases who typically require high-cost, complex lifelong medication therapy and clinical monitoring. To treat these diseases, the company provides specialty drugs that are injected or infused by the patient or by a clinician. Though their main revenue component is pharmaceutical distribution, the company also offers a range of other value-add services to improve patient care and enhance their experience including: educational resources, payor assistance, and outcomes reporting [1]. These proprietary programs and services significantly help to differentiate BioRx from competitors, lower costs to the overall health care system, and improve quality of life for patients.
While many established pharmaceutical distributors were moving towards less personalized, mail-order business models focusing on high prescription volume for both specialty and traditional medication, BioRx took the opposite approach. Since its founding in 2004, BioRx’s goal has been to “build the country’s most patient-centered specialty pharmacy,” and is successfully on its way to doing so[2][3].
Operating Model
Organizational Structure and Scope
BioRx deploys a high-touch, decentralized service model where each patient receives one-on-one customized care [1]. The Company operates within a small scope of related disease states – hemophilia and related bleeding disorders, primary immune deficiency disease, autoimmune disorders, HAE, Alpha 1 deficiency, and nutrition disorders – and by doing so is able to fully focus on the needs of each patient. The streamlined management structure also enables the company to quickly shift product or service offerings in response to market demand, further catering to patient needs [1].
Distribution Processes
BioRx dispenses pharmaceuticals through its seven regional distribution centers across the U.S. and offers home delivery of specialty pharmaceuticals and medical supplies based on the patients’ brand preferences [1]. The company institutes tight management of drug inventory, resulting in close to just-in-time dispensing, thereby reducing unnecessary waste and enabling patients to receive medications quickly and efficiently [1].
Human Capital
The operating model is very labor-intensive, with specialized clinical staff offering one-on-one services to patients across 50 states [2]. There are also pharmacists and clinicians on-call 24 hours per day to enable on-the-spot shipments and patient consultations. In addition, the company offers nursing support, in-home nursing visits, reimbursement coordination, individual patient advocates, and care plans customized for each patient [1].
Technology and Innovation
BioRx has a strong culture of innovation within the specialty pharmacy space, using a very data heavy / analytical approach to care management through which they are able to provide clinical monitoring and increased level of patient data to physicians [1]. They have also developed innovative programs like Rebuild, Impact, and the MyFactor App that help to increase patient compliance, improve outcomes, heighten clinical awareness, reduce costly medical complications, and improve quality of life for patients [1].
Competitive Advantages and Performance
BioRx’s decentralized, flexible operating model is fully aligned with the company’s goal of becoming “the most patient-centered specialty pharmacy.” The customer-service oriented culture, as shown through the highly specialized labor force and flexible distribution model, creates a strong competitive advantage as patients value the highly personalized service and community that BioRx can offer them. Further, the focus on data driven innovation enables BioRx to continuously offer new value-add services that lower costs and improve quality of life for patients and families. [1].
Through its carefully aligned business and operating models, BioRx created a system that benefits all constituents – patients, payors, providers, and manufactures – by improving quality of care, decreasing costs to the system, and increasing the level of clinical monitoring available to these patient populations [1]. With the exception of one small acquisition, BioRx’s growth has been organic, with 2014 revenue and EBITDA of $227 million and $23 million respectively [4] [2]. The Company’s continued successful financial performance led to its acquisition by Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in April 2015 [2].
Sources
[1] www.biorx.com
[2] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/diplomat-completes-acquisition-of-biorx-300059753.html
[3] http://www.sbnonline.com/article/philip-rielly-and-eric-hill-give-biorx-a-shot-in-the-arm-to-keep-the-company-on-a-strong-growth-trajectory/
[4] http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130928/MAGAZINE/309289955
Great post! Looks like BioRx clearly creates value for patients with their investment in human capital. I’m interested in seeing whether they’ll be able to capitalize on the big opportunities in digital health with their investments in innovation programs.