Armada Summit and Expo Expands International Reach in 2014

Thousands of attendees will convene for Armada's 10th Annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit & Expo in Las Vegas, May 5-9, 2014, to discuss both U.S. and global issues surrounding payer management and medical pharmacy trends, market access, the biosimilar landscape, and best practices in specialty pharmacy. In addition to being the nation's largest conference covering the specialty pharmacy segment, Armada is pleased to announce the company will expand the Summit agenda to include content with an international focus. Emerging trends in developed markets worldwide will be analyzed and critiqued by experienced subject matter experts and industry thought leaders in specialty pharmacy over numerous sessions during the course of the meeting.

"As US health care markets change, similarities with international markets emerge," commented David Galardi, worldwide managing director, Apogenics, Inc. "The Armada Summit & Expo provides a global venue to learn from thought leaders who understand the factors that are most likely to affect drug and biologic commercialization across the world markets."

"Innovative drug launches globally will be dominated by specialty medicines, particularly in the field of oncology," noted Kjel Johnson, vice president of global oncology at IMS Health. "We project that spending on specialty medicines in developed markets will increase by 30 percent through 2017, driven by a strong specialty pipeline, with limited impact of both patent expiries and introduction of lower cost biosimilars or non-original biologics."

"Spending on specialty medicines is forecasted to grow by nearly 90 percent in pharmerging markets by 2017 from a very low base," Johnson added. "Rapid GDP growth in pharmerging markets will allow for increasing levels of disposable income, and improved state coverage will also fund growth in specialty sales. We believe that these emerging trends mark significant global opportunities that Armada Summit attendees can learn to leverage."

"Given the recent news about wholesaler partnerships in Europe and the European approval of the first biosimilar of a monoclonal antibody therapy, we expect the conversations at the summit to take on a more worldly feel this year," noted Robert Irene, co-founder and president, Armada Health Care. "In addition, our summit has gained international notoriety. It now attracts a universal healthcare audience offering our US attendees new global opportunities to expand their specialty pharmacy services."

For more information about Armada's 10th Annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit & Expo, please visit www.armadasummit.com.

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About Armada Health Care, LLC

Armada Health Care, LLC (Armada) is the industry's largest specialty pharmacy group purchasing and contracting organization. Armada provides comprehensive and cost-effective access to the nation's $100 billion specialty pharmacy industry. The company offers pharmacy providers, manufacturers, health plans and wholesale distributors a total channel management solution through customized patient programs, prescription data management services, online platforms, and unique purchasing agreements on specialty pharmacy products. Armada is also the founder and host of the nation's largest annual specialty pharmacy summit and expo.

SOURCE: ARMADA HEALTH CARE