PlanetRx.com to Focus on ‘Specialty’ Drugs
PlanetRx.com will stop selling a "broad line" of health and beauty products, and instead focus on prescriptions for "expensive conditions," the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. With the new "specialty prescription" business, the company will sell treatments for cancer, AIDS and organ transplants but will cease sales for other prescriptions. Customers can refill orders through Feb. 26 and have the option of transferring their prescriptions to drugstore.com, a competing online pharmacy. PlanetRX.com stopped accepting new prescription orders on Monday and will halt sales of health and beauty products on March 12. PlanetRx.com Chair and CEO Michael Beindorff said, "This is an effort that we have been working on for quite some time, and we are very excited about our future in the specialty pharmacy business. Industry analysts estimate the specialty pharmacy segment to have an approximate $14 billion in annual sales nationwide and a growth rate higher than the overall pharmacy market." PlanetRx.com's stock lost 99.5% of its value in the past year, and Nasdaq de-listed the stock in December because the price fell below $1 per share (Watson, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 2/14).
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