The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the main company is Merck KGaA in Germany. The company is divided into three business lines: Healthcare, Life Sciences and Electronics. Merck was founded in 1668 and is the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally.
Alliance Healthcare, formerly Alliance UniChem, is a wholesaler, distributer and retailer of pharmaceutical, surgical, medical, and healthcare products throughout Europe. The company supplies more than 110,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centres, and hospitals from over 288 distribution centres in 11 countries.
McKesson Europe AG, with its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, is a leading international wholesale and retail company and provider of logistics and services in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. The company had around 37,000 employees at the end of the 2019 financial year and is represented in 13 countries in Europe. In the 2019 financial year the company achieved a turnover of EUR 21.18 billion. The majority shareholder of the company is the US-based McKesson Corporation, which holds a share of 77.01%. The remaining 22.99% of shares are available on the open market. Kevin Kettler, a US citizen, has been Chairman of McKesson Europe since 1 November 2018.
McKesson Corporation is a publicly-traded American company that distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, medical supplies, and health management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceuticals used in North America and employs over 51,000 employees. With $308.9 billion in 2024 revenue, it is the ninth-largest company by revenue in the United States and the nation's largest health care company. The company is headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a member of the S&P 500 and New York Stock Exchange, where it is traded under the ticker symbol NYSE: MCK.
Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations. The company also manufactures medical and surgical product, including gloves, surgical apparel, and fluid management products. In addition, it operates one of the largest networks of radiopharmacies in the U.S. Cardinal Health provides medical products to over 75 percent of hospitals in the United States.
Soul Patts, formerly Washington H Soul Pattinson, is a publicly listed Australian investment company.
Cencora, Inc., formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is an American drug wholesale company and a contract research organization that was formed by the merger of Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001.
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue of A$43.5 billion in the 2023 financial year, it is one of Australia's largest companies by revenue. Wesfarmers is also one of the largest private employers in Australia, with approximately 107,000 employees.
Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom.
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the leading industries in the People's Republic of China, covering synthetic chemicals and drugs, prepared Chinese medicines, medical devices, apparatus and instruments, hygiene materials, packing materials, and pharmaceutical machinery. China has the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world as of 2017 which is worth US$110 billion. China accounts for 20% of the world's population but only a small fraction of the global drug market. China's changing health-care environment is designed to extend basic health insurance to a larger portion of the population and give individuals greater access to products and services. Following the period of change, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue its expansion.
Priceline is an Australian health and beauty retailer. The Priceline brand has two store types; a traditional Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy. It is owned by Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, which was acquired by Wesfarmers in 2022.
Sigma Healthcare Limited is an Australian, ASX-listed company with a focus on the pharmacy industry. The company has pharmacy operations in retail, wholesale and distribution. From its head office in Clayton, Victoria, Sigma manages over 1,200 branded and independent pharmacies. Sigma Healthcare owns Australian retail pharmacy brands: Amcal, Discount Drug Stores and Guardian Pharmacy. The company also has a presence in the hospital pharmacy services, contract logistics, dose administration aids and other healthcare service adjacencies.
Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of liquor through its Coles Liquor outlets. Since its foundation in Collingwood, Victoria in 1914, Coles has grown to become the second-largest retailer in Australia after its principal rival, Woolworths, in terms of revenue.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, that manufactures and sells pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in more than 100 countries across the globe. It is the largest pharmaceutical company in India and the fourth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company in the world. The products cater to a vast range of therapeutic segments covering psychiatry, anti-infectives, neurology, cardiology, diabetology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, nephrology, urology, dermatology, gynecology, respiratory, oncology, dental and nutritionals.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, which owns the retail pharmacy chains Walgreens in the US and Boots in the UK, as well as several pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution companies. The company was formed on December 31, 2014, after Walgreens bought the 55% stake in Alliance Boots that it did not already own. The total price of the acquisition was $4.9 billion in cash and 144.3 million common shares with fair value of $10.7 billion. Walgreens had previously purchased 45% of the company for $4.0 billion and 83.4 million common shares in August 2012 with an option to purchase the remaining shares within three years. Walgreens became a subsidiary of the newly created company after the transactions were completed. As of 2022, Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Specialty pharmacy refers to distribution channels designed to handle specialty drugs — pharmaceutical therapies that are either high cost, high complexity and/or high touch. High touch refers to higher degree of complexity in terms of distribution, administration, or patient management which drives up the cost of the drugs. In the early years specialty pharmacy providers attached "high-touch services to their overall price tags" arguing that patients who receive specialty pharmaceuticals "need high levels of ancillary and follow-up care to ensure that the drug spend is not wasted on them." An example of a specialty drug that would only be available through specialty pharmacy is interferon beta-1a (Avonex), a treatment for MS that requires a refrigerated chain of distribution and costs $17,000 a year. Some specialty pharmacies deal in pharmaceuticals that treat complex or rare chronic conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, H.I.V. psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or Hepatitis C. "Specialty pharmacies are seen as a reliable distribution channel for expensive drugs, offering patients convenience and lower costs while maximizing insurance reimbursements from those companies that cover the drug. Patients typically pay the same co-payments whether or not their insurers cover the drug." As the market demanded specialization in drug distribution and clinical management of complex therapies, specialized pharma (SP) evolved.„ Specialty pharmacies may handle therapies that are biologics, and are injectable or infused. By 2008 the pharmacy benefit management dominated the specialty pharmacies market having acquired smaller specialty pharmacies. PBMs administer specialty pharmacies in their network and can "negotiate better prices and frequently offer a complete menu of specialty pharmaceuticals and related services to serve as an attractive 'one-stop shop' for health plans and employers."
Chemist Warehouse Group is an Australian company operating a chain of retail pharmacies both locally and internationally. The company is one of Australia's largest pharmacy retailers with over 500 stores in Australia, and employs over 20,000 staff. The company brands itself as offering discounted prices for pharmaceutical goods.
Omnicell, Inc. is an American multinational healthcare technology company headquartered in Mountain View, CA. It manufactures automated systems for medication management in hospitals and other healthcare settings, and medication adherence packaging and patient engagement software used by retail pharmacies. Its products are sold under the brand names Omnicell and EnlivenHealth.
EBOS Group Limited is the largest marketer, wholesaler, and distributor of medical, and pharmaceutical products in Australasia. It is also a major provider of animal care products.
