The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Manulife Financial has reversed its decision to give Loblaw's pharmacies the exclusive right to fill prescriptions on certain specialty medications. A triple bylined item in The Globe reports that Manulife said Monday that its plan members who take specialty medications will now be able to fill their prescriptions at any pharmacy of their choice. Manulife said last month that, as of Jan. 22, all specialty medications would "primarily" be fulfilled by Shoppers Drug Mart and other Loblaw-owned pharmacies. The exclusive deal with Shoppers sparked competition concerns. It also drew negative feedback from some customers who were already accessing specialty drugs at other independent pharmacies. Manulife Canada chief executive officer Naveed Irshad said the company has listened to and is addressing the concerns it has heard over the past week. Manulife said the changes will be made "swiftly." In response to concerns last week, Loblaw had insisted that the deal was not narrowing options for people filling certain prescriptions. Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the Manulife-Loblaw arrangement was "not going in the direction we want to see."