Philly.com recently got the chance to sit down and talk with AmerisourceBergen’s CEO, Steve Collis, to get his views on how elements of the pharmaceutical business are changing, writes Jane M. Von Bergen for Philly.com.

At number 12 on the Fortune 500 with $136 billion in revenue, AmerisourceBergen is a key link between drug manufacturers and patients as it supplies tens of thousands of hospitals and pharmacies daily.

“People have said, “You’re like UPS,” and yes, we have the efficiency,” said Collis. “We do deliveries to 60,000 to 70,000 institutions every day. I don’t even know how many, but the number is astronomical, and the global reach is truly significant.”

During the interview, Collis talks about the recent acquisition of MWI Veterinary Supply Co., the challenge of generic drugs and dealing with the DEA.

He points out that with its recent acquisition of MWI, AmerisourceBergen has now entered the world of animal vaccines and medicines. He has discovered from this new market that not only has the conversation in meetings changed to items such as beef trends and drought forecasts, but also the variety and amount of vaccines required to keep the world’s food supply safe is quite amazing.

When asked about the rise of generic drugs, he notes that the FDA has approved more generic drugs than ever before, largely because the quality of manufacturing has improved. However, whether it is a branded or generic drug, the company still has to answer to the DEA to prevent abuse.

“When we ship to a pharmacy, we don’t know which patient is getting what,“ he noted “We don’t know if that patient has already had three prescriptions for the same drug.“

He goes on to say that all AmerisourceBergen can do is monitor how much of a particular drug a pharmacy receives and report if it becomes suspicious.

Read more of Steven Collin’s interview at Philly.com here. Find previous Vista Today coverage of AmerisourceBergen here.