Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Launches New Navigator Health Services to Meet Next Generation Needs of Specialty Pharmacy Industry

SWARTZ CREEK, Mich., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, the nation's largest privately held specialty pharmacy company, announces the launch of Navigator Health Services, an independent division of Diplomat that provides next generation services to the specialty pharmacy industry. The announcement was made by Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy President and CEO, Phil Hagerman, R.Ph., who says that Navigator Health Services was formed in response to a rapidly evolving industry that is expanding its service outreach and capabilities.

"While drug dispensing remains at the center of our industry, the service component of specialty pharmacy is critical to patient compliance and excellent patient outcomes. The current model does not address the demand for the industry to provide additional services to greater numbers of patients, especially with health care reform poised to add 30 million new patients into the insured pool," explains Mr. Hagerman.  "Navigator Health Services will align the service component of specialty pharmacy with the dispensing component to provide a complementary treatment package in a framework that makes good business sense."  

Navigator Health Services partners with pharmaceutical, health delivery and payer organizations to deliver innovative services and pharmacy solutions to patients and industry stakeholders that are both technology-based and people-driven, consistent with Diplomat's high-touch/high-tech approach.  The initial focus areas for Navigator include reimbursement hub services and expanding alternative funding sources, patient assistance program administration and IT data reporting and healthcare analytics. The overarching goal of Navigator Health Services is to contribute to the attainment of measurable and improved patient outcomes.

Navigator Health Services will be led by President Fred Brown, who joined Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in December 2009. Mr. Brown's wide-ranging skills include profit and loss management for major pharmaceutical launches and business divisions, clinical development program management, in and out-licensing deal making and partnership management, and global healthcare services team leadership and development.

"Fred Brown brings a unique mix of skills and background to the position.  With his experience at large and small pharmaceutical companies and global consulting firms, he has the depth and breadth of knowledge to lead an emerging 21st century organization like Navigator Health Services," affirms Mr. Hagerman.

Prior to joining Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in December 2009 to help launch Navigator Health Services, Mr. Brown served as Global Head of Partnering and Product Lifecycle Management at pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann LaRoche; IBM Executive Vice President of Global Services, Life Sciences Division; CSC Vice President, Life Sciences, Europe; Partner, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Pharmaceutical Services North America and Europe, and co-founded and led the leading indepo injection biotechnology company Alkermes, where he served as pre-IPO board member and Vice President of Business Development.

Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Geology from Tufts University, where he was named a Benjamin G. Brown Scholar. He is a resident of Rochester Hills, Michigan.

The launch of Navigator and the addition of Mr. Brown come at a time when specialty pharmacy, and Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in particular, are experiencing explosive growth.  In April, the Company announced plans to add 1000 new jobs over the next five years and the imminent relocation of its headquarters office to a 340,000 square foot facility in Flint, Michigan.  Diplomat anticipates making $12 million in investments over the next several years in its new headquarters, which is part of the Great Lake Technology Centre. Plans include a new, advanced distribution hub to control Diplomat's nationwide network, an advanced specialty pharmacy compounding laboratory to serve the nation, a new industry training and education center, a high technology software development and data center, and a national patient call center. Navigator Health Services, a separate organization with unique operations, will occupy space in the same headquarters facility as the Diplomat parent company.  

About Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy

Michigan-based Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, founded in 1975, is the nation's largest privately held Specialty Pharmacy and focuses on complete medication management programs for patients with serious and chronic conditions. Key programs include: Oncology, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn's, Hemophilia, Growth Hormone and Psoriasis. Other specialty areas include Transplant, Fertility, Dialysis Medication Management, Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy and Specialty Compounding. The company also specializes in disease management programs for chronic kidney disease patients. With locations in Flint, Swartz Creek and Grand Rapids, MI; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; and Los Angeles. Learn more about Keeping Patients Healthier … Longer™ at www.diplomatpharmacy.com

Media Contacts: Dan Roelofs, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, 616.808.3232; [email protected]; Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.651.7536; cell 586.817.8414; [email protected]

SOURCE Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy