Charlotte-based Premier to acquire specialty pharmacy business | Charlotte Observer

Charlotte-based health care company Premier Inc. said Tuesday that it will acquire the specialty pharmacy business from Lincare Holdings, including Acro Pharmaceutical Services LLC and Community Pharmacy Services LLC.

The $75 million acquisition is projected to close by or before Sept. 30, according to a statement from Premier Tuesday.

Durral Gilbert, president of Premier’s supply chain services segment, said the acquisition will grow and diversify Premier’s patient base. It will also expand the company’s reach to patients in Arkansas and Mississippi, Gilbert said. Acro operates in all 50 states.

Premier, which went public in fall 2013, has been an active buyer of other health care companies in recent years.

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Specialty pharmacy, which focuses on the long-term treatment of chronically ill patients, is one of the fastest growing segments in health care, Premier said.

U.S. spending on specialty drugs in 2012 was about $87 billion, but estimates suggest that could more than quadruple by 2020, reaching about $400 billion, or 9.1 percent of national health spending, according to the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform.