Elevance Health will acquire BioPlus in a bid to enhance its specialty pharmacy services, the company announced Wednesday morning.
The insurer, formerly Anthem, has entered into an agreement with CarepathRx to pick up BioPlus, which offers a range of specialty pharmacy options for patients with chronic conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune conditions and hepatitis C. BioPlus will enable Elevance Health to better meet the specialty drug needs of its patients in a whole-person manner, in collaboration with other services across the health plan and its Carelon portfolio.
BioPlus will be folded into Elevance's pharmacy benefit management arm, IngenioRx.
“As a trusted, lifetime health partner, the acquisition of BioPlus helps us deliver on our whole-health strategy that gives our consumers improved access and reliability to their prescriptions when they need it most,” said Pete Haytaian, executive vice president at Elevance Health and president at Carelon. “In making BioPlus part of the Elevance Health family, we are committed to leveraging our resources to scale and broaden the reach of BioPlus’ best-in-class specialty pharmacy capabilities, delivering greater affordability and access to critical medications.”Elevance said it plans to expand BioPlus' speed and service models across complex disease states to ensure timely access to therapies, access to key support for both patients and providers and ensure patients are provided best-in-class clinical services.
BioPlus currently offers multiple centers of excellence for certain conditions, such as oncology and multiple sclerosis, and Elevance said it plans to build out that model to other conditions to serve more customers. Within a center of excellence, a team of specialized clinicians and pharmacists with knowledge in that therapeutic category work closely with the patient throughout their care journey.
The insurer said it will expand BioPlus' ability to offer timely medication access, supports for providers and patients and clinical expertise at all levels of care.
In addition to integrating BioPlus into IngenioRx, Elevance said it will connect the specialty pharmacy to its Carelon digital platforms for a seamless member experience.
Elevance said it expects the deal to close in the first half of 2023.