The country’s largest prescription drug distributors have committed more than $13 billion since late 2024 to buying up physician practices.
The biggest mover is Cencora. Starting with a $5 billion deal for community oncology platform OneOncology announced in December 2024, Cencora followed with a $4.4 billion acquisition of Retina Consultants of America in January 2025, then went back for more retina. In March 2026, it agreed to pay $1.1 billion for EyeSouth Partners’ retina business, the single biggest physician transaction of the first quarter, folding those physicians into the RCA platform it already controlled. That EyeSouth deal hasn’t closed yet; it’s expected to after Sept. 30. Combined, the three transactions put Cencora’s physician-acquisition spend at roughly $10.5 billion.
Cencora isn’t alone. McKesson agreed in February 2025 to acquire an 80% stake in Prism Vision Holdings, another retina-heavy ophthalmology platform, for roughly $850 million. And in 2024, Cardinal Health paid $2.8 billion for GI Alliance, one of the country’s largest gastroenterology platforms.
The economics explain the interest. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, retina specialists administer some of medicine’s most expensive drugs, anti-VEGF injections for macular degeneration, directly in the office, billing insurers for both the drug and the visit under a buy-and-bill model.
Oncology infusion drugs and GI biologics work the same way. According to a report from the Drug Channels Institute, a distributor that also owns the practices sits on both ends of that transaction: the supply chain and the point of clinical use.
What makes the timing notable is that it’s happening while the rest of ophthalmology cools. Fewer than 100 ophthalmology groups completed deals in 2025, down from more than 300 in 2021, a roughly two-thirds drop. Retina practices are the exception, not the rule, and it’s specialty pharma buyers, not traditional private equity, that appear to be pushing that corner of the market higher.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
