Drug Distributor AmerisourceBergen to Change Name to Cencora
AmerisourceBergen Corp.
plans to change its name to Cencora to reflect its aim to expand outside the U.S. and beyond drug distribution.
The company, among the largest distributors of medicines and other healthcare products in the U.S., with $239 billion in revenue last fiscal year, said Tuesday it expects to begin using the new name in the second half of this year.
“As a global company, the name AmerisourceBergen was becoming less and less reflective to us of how we felt about the company,” said Chief Executive
Steven Collis.
Amerisource is the latest healthcare company to select a new moniker as it seeks to redefine its business. Anthem Inc., one of the country’s biggest health insurers that owns Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in many states, last year, rebranded as
Elevance Health Inc.
to reflect expansion into home-based care and other areas.
Amerisource buys medicines from pharmaceutical companies and ships them to pharmacies and other businesses. By the end of last year, it had helped deliver more than 75 million Covid-19 vaccines in more than 30 countries.
Amerisource, based in the Philadelphia suburbs, has been doing deals to expand its global footprint. In 2022, it paid $6.3 billion for most of a Europe-based
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
unit that sells medicines and other products to pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Early this month, Amerisource completed its 1.3 billion euro, or $1.4 billion, purchase of PharmaLex Holding GmbH, a Frankfurt, Germany-based firm that provides scientific, regulatory and safety services for pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Collis said that a PharmaLex management team member expressed concern during a recent visit that the AmerisourceBergen name was “very American dominant.”
Amerisource began the process of changing its name 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, a company spokeswoman said. It chose the new name because it evokes the ideas of center and core, suggesting the company’s role supporting access to medicines.
“It’s also something that we can say all over the world,” Mr. Collis said, adding that people will understand it to be referring to a global healthcare solutions company.
The name change could also help Amerisource move past allegations that it played a role in the opioid epidemic, though Mr. Collis said that wasn’t a factor.
Last year, Amerisource agreed to pay $6.1 billion as part of a larger settlement between it,
Johnson & Johnson
and other big drug distributors and a majority of states to resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits.
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Amerisource last December, alleging the company contributed to the opioid epidemic by failing to report suspicious orders to law enforcement. A spokeswoman said Amerisource conducted extensive diligence before filling any orders and reported suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and terminated its relationships with four pharmacies before the DEA took any actions.
Write to Ariana Perez-Castells at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
AmerisourceBergen Corp.
plans to change its name to Cencora to reflect its aim to expand outside the U.S. and beyond drug distribution.
The company, among the largest distributors of medicines and other healthcare products in the U.S., with $239 billion in revenue last fiscal year, said Tuesday it expects to begin using the new name in the second half of this year.
“As a global company, the name AmerisourceBergen was becoming less and less reflective to us of how we felt about the company,” said Chief Executive
Steven Collis.
Amerisource is the latest healthcare company to select a new moniker as it seeks to redefine its business. Anthem Inc., one of the country’s biggest health insurers that owns Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in many states, last year, rebranded as
Elevance Health Inc.
to reflect expansion into home-based care and other areas.
Amerisource buys medicines from pharmaceutical companies and ships them to pharmacies and other businesses. By the end of last year, it had helped deliver more than 75 million Covid-19 vaccines in more than 30 countries.
Amerisource, based in the Philadelphia suburbs, has been doing deals to expand its global footprint. In 2022, it paid $6.3 billion for most of a Europe-based
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
unit that sells medicines and other products to pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Early this month, Amerisource completed its 1.3 billion euro, or $1.4 billion, purchase of PharmaLex Holding GmbH, a Frankfurt, Germany-based firm that provides scientific, regulatory and safety services for pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Collis said that a PharmaLex management team member expressed concern during a recent visit that the AmerisourceBergen name was “very American dominant.”
Amerisource began the process of changing its name 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, a company spokeswoman said. It chose the new name because it evokes the ideas of center and core, suggesting the company’s role supporting access to medicines.
“It’s also something that we can say all over the world,” Mr. Collis said, adding that people will understand it to be referring to a global healthcare solutions company.
The name change could also help Amerisource move past allegations that it played a role in the opioid epidemic, though Mr. Collis said that wasn’t a factor.
Last year, Amerisource agreed to pay $6.1 billion as part of a larger settlement between it,
Johnson & Johnson
and other big drug distributors and a majority of states to resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits.
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Amerisource last December, alleging the company contributed to the opioid epidemic by failing to report suspicious orders to law enforcement. A spokeswoman said Amerisource conducted extensive diligence before filling any orders and reported suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and terminated its relationships with four pharmacies before the DEA took any actions.
Write to Ariana Perez-Castells at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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