Acentrus Specialty Provides 34 Hospitals Access Bristol Myers Squibb’s New Drug ZEPOSIA

Irving, TX – June 9, 2020 – Acentrus Specialty™, a national network of health systems and hospitals committed to providing specialty pharmacy care for their patients, has provided 34 network hospital clients access to Bristol Myers Squibb’s (NYSE:BMY) new drug ZEPOSIA® (ozanimod), on Day One when it launched commercially on June 1. The agreement between Acentrus and Bristol Myers Squibb provides qualified Acentrus health system and hospital clients with access to the long-awaited drug for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

“We are pleased our partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb provided immediate access to an important new drug for our clients and their patients,” said Acentrus Specialty Vice President George Zula. “Limited distribution drugs like ZEPOSIA® are in high demand but difficult to obtain. Acentrus works with drug companies to open the door to these medications for specialty pharmacies operated by our network hospitals, which gives patients the advantage of local, integrated care from health care professionals they know and trust.”

Specialty pharmacy is a drug distribution channel designed to handle drug therapies that are high cost, complicated to administer, and often require high touch shipping and handling. These medications, which treat complex and chronic diseases such as cancer, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, frequently have significant risk of side effects and require careful patient monitoring.

Specialty drugs represent the fastest growth sector in pharmacy, with 1-2% of all claims accounting for 50-60% of all expenses. Specialty pharmaceuticals are typically limited distribution drugs (LDDs) available only to certain providers through exclusive networks established by manufacturers.

Acentrus Specialty supports specialty pharmacy programs within health systems and hospitals ranging in size from academic medical centers to community hospitals. As a network administrator, Acentrus offers comprehensive services that help hospitals establish and maintain in-house or outsourced specialty pharmacy programs that provide their patients with high-quality care in a setting where clinical and pharmacy services are integrated. There is no cost for health systems and hospitals to join Acentrus.