Cigna headquarters in Bloomfield, USA. Credit: askarim/Shutterstock.com
Evernorth Health Services, a subsidiary of The Cigna Group, announced on Tuesday that it is investing $3.5 billion in Shields Health Solutions, which is owned by the private equity firm that took over Walgreens. The specialty pharmacy company was founded after Walgreens went private last month following its acquisition by Sycamore Partners.
“Demand for specialty medications continues to grow at an accelerated pace, and Evernorth is uniquely positioned to serve the rapidly expanding number of individuals living with complex and chronic conditions and the doctors who care for them," said David M. Cordani, chair and CEO of Cigna. "Investing in Shields aligns with our commitment to delivering exceptional care across health care settings -- from home, to physician's office or clinic, to hospital."
Shields partners with more than 80 health systems representing 1,000 hospitals and clinics in nearly every state. The company helps hospitals and health systems develop and manage their own specialty pharmacies. Evernorth supports patients living with specialty conditions and the providers who care for them through its direct-to-patient pharmacies, complex medication distributor, inventory management technology, home and ambulatory infusion services and more.
According to Cigna, investing in Shields allows Evernorth to seek more opportunities to support patients and providers and enhance continuity of care across specialty health care settings. It also provides the option for additional investment in Shields over time.
"Our team at Shields has been proud to deliver exceptional clinical, financial and operational outcomes for our health-system partners and their patients served through our differentiated care model,” Shields CEO Michael Ham said. “Both Sycamore's acquisition of Shields and Evernorth's support for the transaction demonstrate clear validation of our successful health system-focused specialty pharmacy strategy and patient-focused care model."
Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore, also lauded the investment.
"We are pleased to have worked with Evernorth on this investment as Sycamore establishes Shields as a private standalone company," he said. “The Shields team and Evernorth share an unwavering commitment to patient care, and we are proud to support Shields on its next phase of growth."
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