PANTHERx's Comprehensive Plan

In accordance with CDC guidelines, PANTHERx has taken a multitude of steps and implemented safety measures for the health and wellbeing of our patients, associates, and their families.

Over the last several months, we have announced or reported changes to policies and procedures as they have arisen. We are grateful for the flexibility and adaptability of our PANTHERx team and remain confident that we will continue to provide excellent care to our patients, service to our partners, and support to our associates.

In order to remain transparent with our stakeholders, PANTHERx would like to share the following additional enhanced safety measures that have been implemented in our facilities:

1. All onsite visitors including associates, delivery personnel, etc. receive a mandatory health check & temperature screening upon entering the facility.
2. Our pharmacy has been fitted with improved protective barriers to distance pharmacists from each other.
3. In additional to our typical janitorial practices and expanded associate cleaning initiatives, we have implemented hospital grade disinfectant fogging in our pharmacy.

The leadership at PANTHERx Rare continues to closely monitor the ongoing developments related to the concerns arising from the impact of COVID-19. As additional information becomes available and guidelines adapt, we will build and execute appropriate contingency protocols and provide details as necessary.

Dear PANTHERx Rare Associates,

As this crisis continues to unfold and updates are shared from communities across our country, I, like many of you, am constantly reminded that our patients are relying on our unwavering care and support. Our patients are confronted with this virus in a different way than most of us, it is very real and a serious threat to their lives. On many occasions, I have stated that one of the biggest things that we offer our patients is hope. Hope is enlightening and hope is relieving. In the early stages of this crisis, we received countless questions regarding our ability to deliver their life saving medications. A few short weeks later, due to your efforts as an integral part of 1PANTHERx, those questions have ceased and have been replaced by compliments and notes of gratitude. In a world that is suddenly filled with uncertainty, you have given hope, calm and a sense of security to our vulnerable patients.

Today, as you navigate through these uncertain times, I urge you to reflect on all the good things that you do on behalf of our patients. Every associate at PANTHERx is instrumental in delivering hope to thousands. What an incredible gift to give to others! Please take every moment, every opportunity, every conversation with our patients, partners, and providers to bring positivity and promise for a better tomorrow.

You are performing in an exceptional manner and my inspiration and hope is in you. My wish and advice to you is to appreciate what you have, give of your talents like never before, and continue to have hope! Each day that ends with you and your loved ones healthy and safe is not just a good day, it is a great day, and is one day closer to these events being behind us. Hope has at its foundation the belief that tomorrow can be better than today. That day is on its way.

Words cannot describe the pride that I have in you and our team. I encourage you to be inspired by our good fortune, incredible mission, and the opportunities that allow you to make a difference. Remember, we are a rare company, with rare associates, and a rare mission.

I wish health and safety to you and your families.

Most sincerely,
Gordon J. Vanscoy
Chairman & CEO of PANTHERx Rare

A lot has changed since PANTHERx released our first public statement nearly a month ago and we have been incredibly busy staying ahead of the curve. In Pennsylvania (home to two of multiple licensed facilities), schools and businesses have been forced to close leaving many reacting and scrambling to survive. In PANTHERx’s case, we don’t have patrons, we have patients; we don’t have a business, we have a vital mission to serve those with rare and devastating disorders without interruption, without compromise. PANTHERx’s thousands and thousands of rare patients rely on us to deliver their life saving medications and the corresponding care and we will not disappoint.

When whisperings of the coronavirus extended beyond China and were forecast to the hit the US, PANTHERx’s emergency preparedness plan was activated. We took our patient responsibility seriously, and began to plan the specifics around COVID-19. As the planning unfolded into reality, it has made all the difference informing our patients proactively (before we received questions), establishing and enforcing staged safety protocols, expanding work from home policies and flexible hours for employees with children home from school, and communicating with our providers, partners, payers and suppliers in a timely manner so that they could focus on their contingency plans and not be concerned about PANTHERx. We have been reassured by our biopharma manufacturers that production and supplies of their breakthrough medications will not be an issue.

Due to the vital nature of our mission, PANTHERx is classified as “essential” and will remain open to service the patients that rely on the medications we dispense and the support services we provide. Thanks to our nimbleness, early planning, and dedicated associates PANTHERx is continuing to serve patients at the level that they have come to expect from our award-winning company. That’s not to say that operations appear “normal” in our facilities—many desks are empty as employees work from home. Once in the facility pharmacy workers adorn protective gloves and facemasks (from our original emergency preparedness plan), and cleaning solutions and hand sanitizer are everywhere for employees to disinfect work surfaces at minimum three times a day. PANTHERx’s flexibility and advanced technology has adapted to keep our associates safe as they service our patients. Advanced planning and committed employees have made a remarkable difference. We can confidently and calmly execute as One PANTHERx reacts to the evolving implications of COVID-19, armed with a comprehensive 5 Phase COVID-19 Plan that accounts for all anticipated scenarios. Now operating on Level 3, PANTHERx is prepared as the coronavirus pandemic develops and new rules/restrictions are put in place.

As the situation unfolds, PANTHERx remains diligent and continues to keep our patients and other constituents informed.

The leadership at PANTHERx Rare has been closely monitoring the ongoing developments related to the concerns arising from the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The following explains PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy’s planning and response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our focus has been to assure uninterrupted services to all patients, while protecting the health and welfare of our associates.

PANTHERx’s plan is active and implemented in stages based on key triggers. We have identified 5 Response Levels, and we are moving from Response Level 2 (heightened awareness) to Response Level 3 (higher restrictive protocols). To date, we have done the following:

• Moved all non-pharmacy associates to work from home. This group constitutes over 30% of our total work force.
• Any pharmacy associate experiencing symptoms such as fever/chills/body aches/coughing/shortness of breath are prohibited from coming to work. If anyone exhibits these symptoms onsite, they will be immediately directed to go home.
• Instituted strict CDC guidelines for all associates along with high levels of access to hand sanitizer and disinfectant materials.
• Expanded facility cleansing, especially focused on the fulfillment/dispensing area.
• Pharmacists and fulfillment associates will immediately utilize masks and gloves when filling prescriptions.
• The pharmacy fulfillment area will be limited to critical personnel only.
• All external meeting will be held remotely.

In addition to the above actions, in moving to Response Level 3, we are incorporating the following actions:

• Identify and activate a core team of 50 associates across the patient care continuum that will continue patient services from a fully remote perspective.
• Due to school closings, we have identified all associates that have conflicts due to child/family care situations and are implementing actions, including expanded and weekend hours to insure continuation of care.
• Identified all associates with underlying health conditions, assess risk, and move to their home environment with technology access.
• We are further preparing our facilities to add the following measures to our day-to-day facility access and operations: Using a forehead thermometer to check for fevers before all associates enter our buildings & wiping down all boxes as they are leaving the pharmacy.

Response Levels 4 and 5 would be triggered by either government interventions or the diagnosis of PANTHERx associates with COVID-19.

Our leadership team has implemented a daily conference call to discuss ongoing plans, current execution, and to adapt to new situations as they arise. We believe that all of our measures place us in a position to continue to meet our mission of uninterrupted service to our patients. As we gather additional information we will continue to build and execute appropriate contingency protocols and provide detailed updates as necessary.

The leadership at PANTHERx Rare has been closely monitoring the ongoing developments related to the concerns arising from the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Nothing is more important to us than insuring the uninterrupted care of our patients afflicted with rare and devastating disorders. As this possible pandemic is a fast evolving and dynamic event, we are actively putting contingencies in place to ensure the seamless treatment to our patients. To that end, we are finishing a comprehensive plan that includes both internal and external measures. Internally, we will service our patients with white-glove care while fostering a workplace environment designed to limit further spread of the contagion and protect our associates. These efforts include possible work from home options, restrictions for those exposed to the virus and protection for those working at our facilities. Additionally, all of our stakeholders (manufacturers, suppliers, shippers and payers) will be contacted by a member of our team to discuss how any disruptions in their individual operations could impact our patients. As we gather that additional information we will continue to build and execute appropriate contingency protocols and provide detailed updates as necessary.