Cigna’s Evernorth Completes Acquisition of CarepathRx

The acquisition follows a strategic partnership formed in June 2023, when Evernorth took a minority stake in CarepathRx to expand specialty pharmacy access for hospitals and health systems.

Evernorth Health Services, the health services division of The Cigna Group, has completed its acquisition of hospital pharmacy CarepathRx, according to a company spokesperson. The transaction was finalized last year but was not formally announced.

The completed sale is reflected on CarepathRx’s website, which states that the company “has joined Evernorth Health Services.” The acquisition follows a strategic partnership formed in June 2023, when Evernorth took a minority stake in CarepathRx to expand specialty pharmacy access for hospitals and health systems.

“As part of our work to enhance and expand the ways we support patients living with specialty conditions and the clinicians who treat them, we completed the acquisition of CarepathRx last year,” a spokesperson said. “CarepathRx supports a range of home and ambulatory infusion solutions to hospitals and health systems.”

CarepathRx dispenses specialty medications to hospitals and health systems and provides home and ambulatory infusion services. The deal strengthens Evernorth’s presence in specialty pharmacy and infusion care, sectors that have drawn increasing attention from regulators and policymakers.

The acquisition was first reported by Stat. Questions about the transaction surfaced last summer when Oregon regulators began reviewing its potential market impact.

According to a report from the Oregon Health Authority, officials determined that the deal would not significantly affect market concentration. “Although Evernorth’s market share for its pharmacy business is high, the acquisition of CarepathRx does not materially increase Evernorth’s position in the market,” regulators wrote.

Evernorth is the parent company of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts and specialty pharmacy provider Accredo. The Cigna Group also operates a national insurer, Cigna Healthcare.

The transaction comes amid heightened scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers and vertically integrated healthcare companies, particularly those combining insurance, pharmacy benefit management, and specialty pharmacy services under one corporate structure.

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