The pandemic had less of an impact on specialty pharmacies than other types of entities, say speakers on a recent BVR webinar. What is a specialty pharmacy? There’s no standard definition, but it’s generally a pharmacy that dispenses specialty drugs, as opposed to a retail pharmacy that typically does not. Jarrod Barraza, a senior manager in the Healthcare Valuation Service Line at Horne LLP, was in the middle of valuing a pharmacy when COVID-19 struck. The pharmacy simply expanded its hours and started curbside pickup with relatively little impact to the business. Barraza also deals with dental practices, and he saw a sharp contrast. You can actually pinpoint the day that dentists’ cash flows stopped coming in—and then starting up again when restrictions were lifted and people started coming in again. People could forego certain dental visits, such as annual checkups, but that was not the case with specialty pharmacies.
Barraza co-presented the webinar, Valuation of Specialty Pharmacies—Practical Considerations, with Mike Gerling, president of Veros Health, who deals with mergers and acquisitions of specialty pharmacies.