'LabCorp at Walgreens' brings testing to the patient's corner drugstore

As part of the collaboration, LabCorp will develop and operate patient service centers within select Walgreens stores. Seven locations will begin seeing patients in 2017.

If successful, the clinical laboratory service provider hopes to roll out similar centers more broadly, David P. King, LabCorp’s chairman and CEO told Oursoucing-Pharma.com.

King said the company has been interested in a retail strategy for some time and after talking to a number of potential partners, LabCorp felt Walgreens was the best suited, he explained.

“What we’ve done is created a convenient place where patients can fill their needs after or before a physician visit​,” said King – and it’s also extended its brand into a new, more direct consumer engaged channel, which he said is a key initiative for the company.

According to King, more than 100,000 patients have consented to be candidates for clinical trials if their condition diagnoses are a potential fit for clinical trials, which its Covance Drug Development business may end up running

“So again, direct engagement with the patient at Walgreens … even seeing our site at the Walgreens​” will help raise awareness, he said, noting that everything the company can do to get closer to the consumer supports the idea that it can create a bigger database of eligible candidate for trials.

“Over time we’d love to explore other ways to collaborate with Walgreens around things like trial enrollment​,” said King. “There are other ways that we see the potential for this to expand if the concept proves successful​.”