Allion Healthcare: Taking care of business

Allion Healthcare (Nasdaq:ALLI), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on HIV/AIDS therapies, is ably performing in an attractive market segment. Expected to nearly double earnings this year, Allion is taking care of others and is feeling pretty good itself.

The company offers reimbursement expertise, arrangement of medication delivery and patient consulting services. It operated 11 specialty pharmacies under the MOMS Pharmacy brand in four states and had 15,610 patients at the end of 2007. Allion’s distribution centers are near metropolitan areas in New York, California, Florida, New Jersey and Washington, where the majority of patients live.

And there is a stream of them: in the United States, the World Health Organization says as many as 2 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the United States at the end of 2005; other data show between 400,000 and 500,000 were taking medicine. There are at least 40,000 — probably many more — new cases of HIV infection each year. The market is estimated at $25 billion for anti-retrovirals and ancillary HIV drugs.

Allion has expanded both internally and through acquisitions, the most recent of which was a purchase in April of Biomed America, a provider of infusion medications for patients with immune deficiencies and other chronic illnesses. And in May, Allion opened a pharmacy in partnership with Lifelong AIDS Alliance of Seattle, which serves more than 3,000 people.

The company intends to continue expansion by raising revenue from its current product base, increasing the number of diseases served and offering more services. It’s open to acquisitions and wants more partnerships.

Strong second-quarter results included the Biomed acquisition and AIDS partnership. Sales in the quarter through June were up 39% from the previous year, . . .

For access to the full article, you must be a registered member - it's FREE.

Already a member? Please log in below