Medco-Quest Fix Study Result Date - Analyst Blog
March 15 2012 - 6:00AM
Zacks
Major pharmacy benefit manager
Medco Health Solutions (MHS) and diagnostic
testing company Quest Diagnostics’ (DGX) are
scheduled to publish the final result of their joint study,
Additional KIF6 Risk Offers Better Adherence to Statins (AKROBATS),
on March 26, 2012 at the 61st Annual Scientific Session & Expo
of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago.
This collaborative AKROBATS study
conducted by Quest and Medco’s subsidiary Medco Research Institute
is a non-randomized intervention trial. The effect of kinesin-like
protein 6 gene(KIF6) testing was evaluated in patients who were
then provided the written results within 30 days of commencement of
statin therapy. The results were communicated before the statin
prescription refill.
The tested patients were evaluated
against the non-tested control patients with respect to age,
gender, statin prescription distribution channel and the number of
chronic medications at the time of statin initiation. Quest’s
advanced cardiovascular disease testing unit Berkeley HeartLab
presently offers a laboratory-developed test for the KIF6 gene
variant.
This new study is expected to be
beneficial in effectively bringing down the cost of medication amid
an inflationary situation as well as increasing greater
efficiencies for improved patient outcomes.
An aging population coupled with
higher frequency of chronic diseases continues to drive demand and
add to the escalating cost of new research and drug therapies. As a
result, we expect the outlook for the Pharmacy Benefit Management
(PBM) industry to remain positive. With fiscal 2011 revenue of $70
billion and over 20,000 workers serving a wide range of public and
private sector clients, Medco currently holds the 34th
position on the 2011 Fortune 500 list.
Quest, on the other hand, performs
several types of tests including routine (bodily health tests like
blood cell count, HIV, and pregnancy), anatomic pathology,
genebased and esoteric testing (including genetics, immunology,
oncology and serology, requiring sophisticated technology) and
drugs-of-abuse testing, which accounted for approximately 51%, 13%,
25% and 2%, respectively, of the total revenue in 2011.
In addition, the company generated
9% of its revenues in 2011 from non-clinical testing businesses,
which include risk assessment services for the life insurance
industry, clinical trials testing, diagnostic products and
healthcare information technology.
We currently have a Neutral
recommendation on Quest and Medco. Both the stocks retain Zacks #3
Rank (short-term ‘Hold’ rating).
QUEST DIAGNOSTC (DGX): Free Stock Analysis Report
MEDCO HLTH SOL (MHS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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