Amerisourcebergen

AmerisourceBergen Inc., one of the nation's largest wholesale drug suppliers, reported profit increases for its fourth quarter and 2012 fiscal year, both of which ended Sept. 30. Based in Chesterbrook, the company said its full-year revenue declined from about $80 billion to about $79.5 billion, but net income increased by 1.7 percent, to $719 million. AmerisourceBergen also said it plans to sell its subsidiary, AndersonBrecon, a contract pharmaceutical packaging business. CEO Steven Collis said in a conference call with analysts that the unit was profitable by itself, but AmerisourceBergen had not generated the anticipated extra cash from the division's connection to the main operation.

Valley Forge-based pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Thursday that its net income increased four percent in its first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, compared to the same period in 2011. Net income rose from $162.1 million to $168.6 million in 2012. AmerisourceBergen also said quarterly revenue rose 5.7 percent from the same period in 2011. The company is one of the three biggest drug wholesalers in the nation and the biggest Pennsylvania company as measured by revenue.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. said today it agreed to buy TheraCom L.L.C., which supplies consulting and reimbursement services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, for $250 million. TheraCom is a unit of drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits provider CVS Caremark Corp. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. AmerisourceBergen, Valley Forge, is a distributor of pharmaceuticals.    -Paul Schweizer

Pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. yesterday announced a two-for-one stock split, doubled its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share, and reaffirmed its 2006 profit outlook. The Valley Forge company also said Richard C. Gozon, 67, would become chairman of the board, succeeding James R. Mellor, 75, contingent on a shareholders' vote Feb. 9. Mellor will step down as chairman and as a director as required by the company's mandatory-retirement provisions. The company announced the stock split, in the form of a stock dividend, to be distributed Dec. 28 to shareholders of record Dec. 13. After the split, the company expects to have about 208.6 million shares outstanding.

Drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, Inc. , filed a notice with the New Jersey Department of Labor indicating it plans to layoff 72 employees on April 5 at the company's facility in Thorofare, Gloucester County. AmerisourceBergen, based in Valley Forge, is one of the three largest drug wholesalers in the country, with nearly $80 billion in annual revenue. A company spokeswoman declined comment. As of Sept. 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AmerisourceBergen had 26 distribution centers in the U.S. for its main drug business, including leased facilities in 11 states, New Jersey among them.

AmerisourceBergen Corp., the Valley Forge drug wholesaler that is 27th on the Fortune 500 list, made its biggest foreign step Tuesday by announcing it has agreed to buy World Courier Group Inc., a privately held global specialty-transportation and logistics provider for the biopharmaceutical industry, for $520 million in cash. The globalization of large U.S. businesses is almost a given these days, but it doesn't apply to every company in the same way. AmerisourceBergen had more revenue - $80 billion - than any of the pharmaceutical companies it handles products for, but had only a small presence outside the United States, in Canada and Wales.

Valley Forge-based drug-wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Inc. announced Tuesday that it has won a three-year contract, worth about $18.5 billion a year, to supply products to pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts. "We are honored that Express Scripts has chosen AmerisourceBergen to supply the brand pharmaceuticals it needs for its recently combined mail-order and specialty-pharmacy business," Steven H. Collis, AmerisourceBergen's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Thursday that it has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey to provide records for a grand jury investigation into illegal use of controlled substances. AmerisourceBergen, which has its headquarters in Chesterbrook and is the third largest drug wholesaler in the country, said that it is cooperating with the investigation. Overdoses of prescription pain medicine kill more Americans than cocaine and heroin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report.

Chesterbrook-based wholesale drug supplier AmerisourceBergen said Thursday its quarterly revenue increased from $19.7 billion in 2012 to $20.5 billion in the same period in 2013, a rise of 4.1 percent. Net income fell from $212.1 million to $45.63 million during the period ending March 31, which is the company's second quarter.   The company said expenses were higher in the calculations because of the inclusion of its World Courier service, which coordinates transport of products used in clinical trials.

PRINCETON - Merck & Co.'s chief executive officer, Ken Frazier, says the drugmaker's facility in West Point, Montgomery County, is in no danger of being closed now. Merck is among the many pharmaceutical companies that have announced in recent months plans to close or consolidate facilities in hopes of squeezing more efficiency out of their operations. Some of those decisions involved laying off employees. Is West Point safe? "Yes," Frazier said Thursday evening after speaking about Merck's worldwide vaccine programs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen said Tuesday that it reached a deal to sell its AndersonBrecon contract packaging subsidiary for $308 million to a group created to make the purchase and led by Frazier Healthcare. AmerisourceBergen, whose headquarters is in Chesterbrook, had said in November that it planned to divest this business. "This transaction will help ensure that AndersonBrecon will continue to thrive in the years ahead, and allows AmerisourceBergen to focus on its distribution, specialty and manufacturer services businesses," Steven H. Collis, AmerisourceBergen chief executive officer, said in a statement.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. is in and Cardinal Health Inc. is out as the wholesale supplier of medicines for Walgreens pharmacies. The Chesterbrook-based company has signed a 10-year agreement with the nation's biggest drug-store operator that is expected to provide about $400 billion in revenue during the next decade. Landing Walgreens is a major coup for AmerisourceBergen, a middleman between companies that make drugs and those that dispense them (pharmacies, hospitals, and nursing homes)

Drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, Inc. , filed a notice with the New Jersey Department of Labor indicating it plans to layoff 72 employees on April 5 at the company's facility in Thorofare, Gloucester County. AmerisourceBergen, based in Valley Forge, is one of the three largest drug wholesalers in the country, with nearly $80 billion in annual revenue. A company spokeswoman declined comment. As of Sept. 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AmerisourceBergen had 26 distribution centers in the U.S. for its main drug business, including leased facilities in 11 states, New Jersey among them.

Valley Forge-based pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Thursday that its net income increased four percent in its first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, compared to the same period in 2011. Net income rose from $162.1 million to $168.6 million in 2012. AmerisourceBergen also said quarterly revenue rose 5.7 percent from the same period in 2011. The company is one of the three biggest drug wholesalers in the nation and the biggest Pennsylvania company as measured by revenue.

In the Region Philadelphia lawyers stay put   Drinker Biddle & Reath L.L.P. said it agreed to extend its lease at One Logan Square through 2029. As part of the agreement, the law firm will reduce the size of its offices from 206,000 square feet to 155,000 square feet. The firm anticipates that the number of employees there will remain about the same. It has 456 employees at One Logan, including 205 lawyers. - Chris Mondics   Deal to ship ethane via Marcus Hook   A European petrochemical producer entered into a 15-year agreement to ship Marcellus Shale ethane to Norway from a Sunoco Logistics terminal in Marcus Hook.

Securities trades recently reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission by officers, directors and principal shareholders of corporations based or having sizable employment in the Philadelphia area. Titles are as reported to the SEC. Airgas Inc. Dwight T. Wilson , officer, sold 29,000 shares at $87.93 on Dec. 6, and now directly holds 25,939 shares. Amerigas Partners L.P. Andrew J Peyton , officer, bought 1,300 shares at $39.65 on Dec. 6, and now directly holds 1,888 shares.