McKesson And Walmart Reveal Sourcing Deal For Generic Pharmaceuticals

McKesson Corporation MCK and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT disclosed that they have signed a sourcing agreement for generic pharmaceuticals. The two firms also said that they have struck an expanded long-term distribution agreement. As a result, the two organizations would collaborate on sourcing generic pharmaceuticals for their respective American operations, adding scale and value for both companies.

Wal-Mart's SVP and President for Health and Wellness, George Riedl, said, "Walmart and McKesson have built a strong business relationship over the past 30 years by working together to help lower the cost of health care. The dynamics of health care continue to change, and we're changing with it. It's why we are taking our relationship with McKesson to the next level, using our combined size and scale to drive efficiencies, something that is core to our business."

Similarly, McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical President, Mark Walchirk, said, "McKesson and Walmart have worked together for decades and throughout our relationship both companies have engaged in an on-going dialogue about how we can work together to bring more efficiency and value to the health care supply chain. Expanding our relationship to include a sourcing partnership for generics makes economic and strategic sense for both of us—by bringing together our respective scale and sourcing expertise, we will make our businesses stronger and create more value for our customers and patients."

The two firms said this was a logical next step having created history of working together to cut down the pharmaceutical care costs. The new sourcing deal leverages McKesson's demonstrated strength, as well as, expertise in the global pharmaceutical industry and Walmart's proven commitment to delivering leading health and wellness services at an everyday low price to its customers.

McKesson shares traded 3.9 percent higher.