T. Rowe Price Health Sciences Fund (PRHSX) manager Kris Jenner is on the hunt for investment ideas in health-care services after getting a big boost from biotechnology stocks last year. About a third of the $5 billion fund is invested in biotech names, and while major alterations are unlikely, Dr. Jenner believes last year's biotech surge will be hard to replicate. So in the run-up to big changes under the health-care overhaul law, the fund's team is looking at companies that provide, manage and pay for care. There are "several sectors to look at," Dr. Jenner said. Services companies include hospitals, insurers, pharmacy-benefit managers and others. The health overhaul for these companies really kicks into gear next year, when coverage extends to millions of Americans, creating a menagerie of new opportunities and pressures for health companies. "Fundamentally you're going to have more patients in the health-care system, you're going to have greater payments in the health-care system," but also new costs, Dr. Jenner said. Recent T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) data show nearly 27% of the fund invested in services, a third in biotechnology, 22% in pharmaceuticals, 14% in products and devices and a small sliver in life sciences. … Continue reading →

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --H. D. Smith, among the nation's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers, today announced the establishment of H. D. Smith Specialty Solutions, an organization structured to provide focus and alignment around specialty and traditional brand products, solutions and services. The company also announced the realignment of select executive leadership positions to best capitalize on the growing needs resulting from recent geographic and service expansions. These expansions include the acquisition of Valley Wholesale Drug in October 2012 and a planned majority ownership investment in Triplefin announced in January 2013. Valley Wholesale Drug operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of H. D. Smith from its California headquarters, increasing the company's customer base in California and expansion into the Pacific Northwest. Triplefin is a brand and specialty pharmaceutical support services company headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, with offices in Scottsdale, AZ, Portland, OR (Sharepoint Innovations), and Sarasota FL (Specialty Pharmacy Nursing Network). With Triplefin, H. D. Smith's prescription pharmaceutical service offering to manufacturing partners and specialty pharmacy customers has significantly increased. "With the recent additions of Valley Wholesale Drug and Triplefin to the H. D. Smith family of companies, our geographic and service-offering reach has expanded greatly and our business structure … Continue reading →