SNN Q&A: Update with ScripsAmerica, Inc. - Discusses PIMD International, Diabetic Medical Supplies and RapiMed® In this SNN Q&A, SNN’s Robert Kraft spoke with Robert Schneiderman, CEO of ScripsAmerica, Inc. to discuss what’s been happening in the company since we last spoke in November 2014.
http://stocknewsnow.com/commentary/ANEWSID190...QB-SCRC%29
Friday, March 20, 2015
ScripsAmerica, Inc. (OTCQB: SCRC) is a vertically integrated provider of a range of specialty prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. The Company serves a number of large and growing markets, in particular Specialty Pharmaceuticals & Medical Supplies. Scrips's Main Avenue Pharmacy, which accounts for a majority of the Company's revenues, is a leader in the compounding industry -- a $5 billion per year market according to IBIS Worldwide. IBIS Worldwide further expects the industry to experience rapid growth due to increased awareness of the benefits of compounding as well as new pharmaceutical applications.Stock News Now: Let’s start with an overview of ScripsAmerica, Inc.RS: ScripsAmerica's operations commenced in 2010. Originally, the company provided pharmaceutical distribution services, primarily for McKesson. Our customers included hospitals, long-term care facilities, and government and home care agencies. Around 2013, McKesson implemented a number of changes that were essentially designed to squeeze out small distributors, such as Scrips. Recognizing that we needed to pivot our business strategy while retaining as much of the intellectual property, distribution networks, and other experience we had developed, we invested in a small pharmacy that had licenses to distribute specialty pharmaceuticals in a few states. That was Main Avenue Pharmacy, which we have since completely absorbed. Main Avenue Pharmacy had a unique ability to compound specialty pharmaceuticals, but it was focused primarily on the local market. Because we had relationships throughout the pharmaceutical industry distribution network, we were able to add distributors and dramatically increase the volume of prescriptions filled by Main Avenue Pharmacy. Since that time, we had identified opportunities to leverage our network, pharmacy, and licenses to add complementary businesses such as the distribution of diabetic medical supplies, wholesaling of prescription medications, and physician dispensing programs.Stock News Now: The Company has issued several press releases recently; can you briefly summarize?RS: We are focused on keeping the investment community informed about the progress we are making with our various businesses. For instance, orders in our Specialty Pharmaceutical business were significantly higher in January and February of 2015, compared to the same months a year ago. PIMD International, our wholesaling operation, saw a nice sequential ramp up in orders from January to February. We also updated the investment community regarding our relationship with CVS. And, more recently, we announced the intent to purchase two additional pharmacies, which if consummated would increase the number of states in which we are licensed from eight to almost 40. Stock News Now: How is the company going to secure market share from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies?RS: By and large, we do not compete with the large pharmaceutical companies. In fact, the compounding industry is the ideal complement to standardized pharmaceuticals, because in many cases, specialty compounds are the solution for patients who are allergic to, or otherwise cannot tolerate, certain ingredients large pharmaceutical companies include in their medications. In addition, many of our products are topical, thereby reducing the risk of addiction, which is much higher for medications containing narcotics that are dispensed in tablet form. This creates a tremendous opportunity to essentially return the local pharmacy to its original role as the place where pharmacists mixed custom medications tailored to an individual’s specific needs. Due to the rise of personalized medicine, we believe there will be a lot of interest in the unique ability of specialty pharmacies, such as Main Avenue Pharmacy, in providing prescription medications that avoid many of the shortcomings of mass produced medications.Stock News Now: How will the company fund its growth?RS: As we have noted, our working capital position has improved dramatically over the course of 2014, providing us with over $1 million in liquidity. In addition, late last year we secured a $4 million line of credit with a financial institution. At this point, our goal is to utilize our available resources and credit to support operations so we do not dilute shareholders.Stock News Now: Can you tell us more about some of your evolving markets, such as PIMD International, diabetic medical supplies and RapiMed®?RS: PIMD International offers wholesale prescription medication services. Many smaller pharmacies are simply too small to meet the minimum order requirements of the large distributors, and thus unable to stock many fairly common prescription medications. PIMD buys these medications directly from distributors or manufacturers at the required minimum quantities, then breaks down this bulk order into the smaller lots these independent pharmacies need. It's a great business that is looked upon very favorably by the tens of thousands of independent pharmacies on which many average Americans rely. Our diabetic medical supply business is still in its infancy, but because of the licenses we carry at Main Avenue Pharmacy, we can offer many of the supplies diabetes patients need at prices that are very competitive with their existing source. For instance, in many inner city communities, supplies can be expensive and difficult to source. We offer an alternative, mail order supply that assures patients of their product, and at prices that are frequently better than what they are already paying. And, RapiMed is a pain and fever tablet specially formulated for children. This is an exciting product we have had in development for a few years, and we are continuing to pursue opportunities for distribution overseas.Stock News Now: What does 2015 have in store for ScripsAmerica?RS: We are extremely excited by the prospects of 2015 as we believe we are headed into the new year with a tremendous amount of momentum. We generated over $30 million of revenue in 2014, and were profitable over the second half of the year. In fact, we are already expecting revenue of over $9.5 million and net income of more than $400,000 in the first fiscal quarter of 2015. Many of the seeds planted over the past 12 months are expected to bear fruit throughout 2015, with many experiencing accelerating growth as the year progresses. While 2014 was very successful, especially the second half of the year, we were still building much of the structure and systems, and were bringing on the people we needed to manage our growth. Now, with much of that behind us, we believe we can improve efficiency, which should lead to more profitable growth. In addition, now that we have established a solid financial position, we have the resources to fund these projects, as well as to make selective, strategic acquisitions, such as the two pharmacies we already have under Letter of Intent. So, we hope investors will recognize our commitment to creating value in ScripsAmerica, and how we offer a unique opportunity to play on some very exciting health care themes, including personalized medicine, cost efficiencies, and innovative solutions to the challenges facing today's independent pharmacies.For more information about ScripsAmerica, Inc., go to: www.ScripsAmerica.com
http://stocknewsnow.com/commentary/ANEWSID190...QB-SCRC%29
Friday, March 20, 2015
ScripsAmerica, Inc. (OTCQB: SCRC) is a vertically integrated provider of a range of specialty prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. The Company serves a number of large and growing markets, in particular Specialty Pharmaceuticals & Medical Supplies. Scrips's Main Avenue Pharmacy, which accounts for a majority of the Company's revenues, is a leader in the compounding industry -- a $5 billion per year market according to IBIS Worldwide. IBIS Worldwide further expects the industry to experience rapid growth due to increased awareness of the benefits of compounding as well as new pharmaceutical applications.Stock News Now: Let’s start with an overview of ScripsAmerica, Inc.RS: ScripsAmerica's operations commenced in 2010. Originally, the company provided pharmaceutical distribution services, primarily for McKesson. Our customers included hospitals, long-term care facilities, and government and home care agencies. Around 2013, McKesson implemented a number of changes that were essentially designed to squeeze out small distributors, such as Scrips. Recognizing that we needed to pivot our business strategy while retaining as much of the intellectual property, distribution networks, and other experience we had developed, we invested in a small pharmacy that had licenses to distribute specialty pharmaceuticals in a few states. That was Main Avenue Pharmacy, which we have since completely absorbed. Main Avenue Pharmacy had a unique ability to compound specialty pharmaceuticals, but it was focused primarily on the local market. Because we had relationships throughout the pharmaceutical industry distribution network, we were able to add distributors and dramatically increase the volume of prescriptions filled by Main Avenue Pharmacy. Since that time, we had identified opportunities to leverage our network, pharmacy, and licenses to add complementary businesses such as the distribution of diabetic medical supplies, wholesaling of prescription medications, and physician dispensing programs.Stock News Now: The Company has issued several press releases recently; can you briefly summarize?RS: We are focused on keeping the investment community informed about the progress we are making with our various businesses. For instance, orders in our Specialty Pharmaceutical business were significantly higher in January and February of 2015, compared to the same months a year ago. PIMD International, our wholesaling operation, saw a nice sequential ramp up in orders from January to February. We also updated the investment community regarding our relationship with CVS. And, more recently, we announced the intent to purchase two additional pharmacies, which if consummated would increase the number of states in which we are licensed from eight to almost 40. Stock News Now: How is the company going to secure market share from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies?RS: By and large, we do not compete with the large pharmaceutical companies. In fact, the compounding industry is the ideal complement to standardized pharmaceuticals, because in many cases, specialty compounds are the solution for patients who are allergic to, or otherwise cannot tolerate, certain ingredients large pharmaceutical companies include in their medications. In addition, many of our products are topical, thereby reducing the risk of addiction, which is much higher for medications containing narcotics that are dispensed in tablet form. This creates a tremendous opportunity to essentially return the local pharmacy to its original role as the place where pharmacists mixed custom medications tailored to an individual’s specific needs. Due to the rise of personalized medicine, we believe there will be a lot of interest in the unique ability of specialty pharmacies, such as Main Avenue Pharmacy, in providing prescription medications that avoid many of the shortcomings of mass produced medications.Stock News Now: How will the company fund its growth?RS: As we have noted, our working capital position has improved dramatically over the course of 2014, providing us with over $1 million in liquidity. In addition, late last year we secured a $4 million line of credit with a financial institution. At this point, our goal is to utilize our available resources and credit to support operations so we do not dilute shareholders.Stock News Now: Can you tell us more about some of your evolving markets, such as PIMD International, diabetic medical supplies and RapiMed®?RS: PIMD International offers wholesale prescription medication services. Many smaller pharmacies are simply too small to meet the minimum order requirements of the large distributors, and thus unable to stock many fairly common prescription medications. PIMD buys these medications directly from distributors or manufacturers at the required minimum quantities, then breaks down this bulk order into the smaller lots these independent pharmacies need. It's a great business that is looked upon very favorably by the tens of thousands of independent pharmacies on which many average Americans rely. Our diabetic medical supply business is still in its infancy, but because of the licenses we carry at Main Avenue Pharmacy, we can offer many of the supplies diabetes patients need at prices that are very competitive with their existing source. For instance, in many inner city communities, supplies can be expensive and difficult to source. We offer an alternative, mail order supply that assures patients of their product, and at prices that are frequently better than what they are already paying. And, RapiMed is a pain and fever tablet specially formulated for children. This is an exciting product we have had in development for a few years, and we are continuing to pursue opportunities for distribution overseas.Stock News Now: What does 2015 have in store for ScripsAmerica?RS: We are extremely excited by the prospects of 2015 as we believe we are headed into the new year with a tremendous amount of momentum. We generated over $30 million of revenue in 2014, and were profitable over the second half of the year. In fact, we are already expecting revenue of over $9.5 million and net income of more than $400,000 in the first fiscal quarter of 2015. Many of the seeds planted over the past 12 months are expected to bear fruit throughout 2015, with many experiencing accelerating growth as the year progresses. While 2014 was very successful, especially the second half of the year, we were still building much of the structure and systems, and were bringing on the people we needed to manage our growth. Now, with much of that behind us, we believe we can improve efficiency, which should lead to more profitable growth. In addition, now that we have established a solid financial position, we have the resources to fund these projects, as well as to make selective, strategic acquisitions, such as the two pharmacies we already have under Letter of Intent. So, we hope investors will recognize our commitment to creating value in ScripsAmerica, and how we offer a unique opportunity to play on some very exciting health care themes, including personalized medicine, cost efficiencies, and innovative solutions to the challenges facing today's independent pharmacies.For more information about ScripsAmerica, Inc., go to: www.ScripsAmerica.com
