A newly established Tampa holding company specializing in pharmaceutical technology and set to launch a wholesale distribution business later this year, is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO), marking the first of its kind in the region in 18 months.
Danam Health Inc. has yet to determine the price of its shares for the IPO, according to an S-1 registration statement submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The IPO comes shortly after Danam and Colorado-based healthcare firm Assure Holdings Corp. abandoned their long-anticipated merger, as reported in a statement released in June. Formed by pharma industry veterans in 2022, Danam aims to evolve into a comprehensive digital pharmacy and clinical services platform. This platform will link small and midsized pharmaceutical manufacturers with independent retail pharmacies. The company has identified Centene Corp., Cigna, CVSHealth, and BlueCross BlueShield as key competitors.
The registration statement also reveals that Suren Ajjarapu, founder and CEO of Tampa-based TRxADE Health Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDS), will serve as chairman of Danam. Several former executives from Health Mart, the $10 billion retail pharmacy franchise owned by McKesson (NYSE: MCK), are also listed. Danam’s CEO, Tim Canning, previously served as Health Mart’s president, while COO Chuck Wilson, with 15 years at McKesson, was the VP of retail operations.
Danam was created as an alternative to McKesson and the other “Big 3” U.S. pharmaceutical wholesale distributors—AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health. According to the registration statement, “New emerging to midsized manufacturers are increasingly looking for supply chain flexibility as launching drugs into retail channels through the ‘Big 3’ wholesalers is proving to be cost prohibitive.”
This year, Danam is expected to finalize the acquisition of Lakeland-based Wellgistics, a large pharmaceutical wholesale distributor previously owned by pharmacy benefit management firm WellDyneRx. Now majority-owned by Strategix Global, Wellgistics offers distribution and third-party logistics support to 60 small and midsized manufacturers serving over 4,000 independent pharmacies nationwide. Wellgistics’ distribution channels will become a core component of Danam’s operations. Additionally, Danam recently acquired Wood Sage, which includes a community specialty pharmacy licensed in 35 states and a technology platform used by independent pharmacies for prescription transfers and clinical concierge services.
Danam “will leverage the brick-and-mortar infrastructure of thousands of independent, locally owned pharmacies to create a powerful combination of a best-in-class digital platform with a network of local pharmacies capable of delivering prescriptions to patients in hours,” the filing stated.
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