Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
May 15, 2023 01:36 PM

CVS Health to shut down clinical trials division

Kara Hartnett
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Clinical trial
    MH Illustration/Unsplash

    CVS Health's time as a clinical trials operator is coming to a close three years after the company ventured into medical research.

    The company began its collaboration with pharmaceutical companies in 2021 and will shut it down at the end of 2024. To date, CVS Health has worked with more than 30 drugmakers on 50 phase I, II and IV studies involving 33,000 participants.

    The clinical trial division is not aligned with CVS Health's long-term strategy, a spokesperson wrote in an email Monday. The company declined to make an executive available for an interview.

    “We’ll work with our trial sponsors to ensure a smooth transition, as well as continuity of care and minimal disruption for patients,” the spokesperson wrote. “We’re working to support impacted colleagues, and will provide career transition support for those unable to find another role within CVS Health.”

    CVS Health reported an 8.7% decline in net income to $2.1 billion during the first quarter. Revenue rose 11% but costs related to its acquisitions of Signify Health and Oak Street Health dinged quarterly profits, and the company revised down its profit projections for the full year. CVS Health shares opened at $68.58 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, down 36% from the $107.26 52-week high on Aug 16, 2022.

    The demise of the CVS Health initiative will eliminate a potentially useful means of connecting patients, especially from underrepresented populations, to research, said Yasmeen Long, director of FasterCures at the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. “The whole point of it was to have clinical trials more accessible to certain communities,” she said.

    The clinical trials division likely didn’t lure enough customers to CVS drugstores and study participation may have been below expectations, said Duane Wright, senior research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “The synergies just weren't there. CVS does all these other things and doing clinical research probably just didn't fit well with the overall model,” he said.

    CVS Health built the research operation atop its care delivery and COVID-19 vaccination programs and billed it as a way to make initiating trials and recruiting patients more efficient. The company anticipated its pharmacies and clinics would serve as sources for trial participants, especially those from underrepresented communities.

    Competitors such as Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger also waded into clinical research after the pandemic began. Walgreens plans to continue its clinical trials division, Chief Clinical Trials Officer Ramita Tandon said. “We expect to grow fast and furious,” she said. Walmart and Kroger did not respond to requests for comment.

    Related Articles
    CVS cuts profit forecast after Signify, Oak Street deals
    Retail pharmacies look to disrupt clinical trials
    Older adults, women underrepresented in heart failure clinical trials
    How Amazon, CVS and others have grown into healthcare powerhouses
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    mh-20250508-post-acute-care
    Post-acute providers see hiring boost as possible recession looms
    Cleveland-clinic-for web_i.jpg
    Cleveland Clinic, Regent Surgical form ASC joint venture
    Most Popular
    1
    Best Places to Work in Healthcare - 2025 (alphabetical list)
    2
    House GOP bill would make deep cuts to Medicaid
    3
    AI health risk assessments aim to boost Medicare Advantage pay
    4
    How health system CFOs are navigating the growing uncertainty
    5
    CMS proposes crackdown on 'money laundering' provider tax policies
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content