Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company Continues To Revolutionize Generic Drug Pricing

Mark Cuban’s Value Plus Drug Firm (MCCPDC) is making waves once more, because it steadily raises its profile within the generic medicine sector. With a rising buyer base of greater than 1.5 million, the corporate is quick changing into a significant disruptor in generic drug pricing.

The corporate purchases prescription drugs instantly from producers, bypassing middlemen to considerably decrease costs. Quickly it should additionally manufacture generic medicine – and probably biosimilars, too – at a 22,000 sq. foot plant which is being constructed close to Dallas, Texas.

Final 12 months, MCCPDC launched a web based pharmacy. The launch got here simply two months after its pharmacy profit supervisor (PBM) operation was established. Beforehand, MCCPDC had been a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler for greater than a 12 months, however initially it solely stocked a handful of medication. It now presents greater than 350 generic medicine at discounted costs.

For the buyer, the worth of every drug features a fastened markup of 15%, a $3 pharmacy price, and a $5 transport price. The corporate’s web site is totally clear. It exhibits which medicines can be found, the fee to sufferers, and the mark-up. MCCPDC collaborates with Truepill pharmacy to fill prescriptions.

At this cut-off date, the corporate sells generic and never branded medicine. However, branded medicine account for the overwhelming majority of pharmaceutical prices. Therefore, MCCPDC gained’t but make a considerable dent in total drug spending. Nevertheless, Cuban mentioned he needs to ultimately add brand-name medicine to the corporate’s portfolio of merchandise.

Additionally, MCCPDC is contemplating including insulin to the listing of medication the corporate sells and produces. At current, one vial of insulin can value an uninsured affected person as a lot as $95. The agency intends to promote a 90-day provide of 12 vials for $170. It could take awhile, nevertheless, earlier than insulin turns into accessible. As a biologic, insulin presents particular challenges with respect to follow-on merchandise – biosimilars – and manufacturing itself. Maybe the corporate will in-license a biosimilar model of insulin. If it decides to supply insulin, it should undoubtedly encounter an advanced and costly manufacturing course of.

The corporate is particularly useful for individuals who are uninsured and many individuals who’ve medical health insurance however are within the deductible section – excessive deductible plans are more and more the norm – and whose co-payments are notably burdensome. For a lot of generic medicine, the co-payment might be greater than the precise worth of the drug.

The corporate doesn’t (but) settle for most medical health insurance. Most insured customers who make use of the MCCPDC shouldn’t have their out-of-pocket prices depend in the direction of their insurance coverage deductible or different gaps of their protection. This means that for prescribed drugs not accessible at Cuban’s on-line pharmacy – which is the overwhelming majority of medication – the buyer should spend cash out of pocket on merchandise the insurer covers earlier than insurance coverage kicks in.

Nonetheless, Cuban’s firm is conscious of the difficulty and definitely not towards partnering with insurers or smaller pharmacy profit managers (PBMs). Certainly, in October, MCCPDC introduced a partnership with Capital Blue Cross. And in December, the agency introduced a partnership with the PBM EmsanaRX. Partnering with insurers and PBMs will permit folks to join reductions provided by Cuban’s firm and have these then depend in the direction of their deductible.

Clearly, the partnerships with payers and PBMs prolong MCCPDC’s attain. One wonders whether or not MCCPDC will quickly forge relationships with different unconventional PBMs, akin to Capital Rx, that share an analogous philosophy concerning clear pricing. Each CapitalRx and MCCPDC imagine that transparency is a lacking element inside the present U.S. healthcare system, wherein insurers and drug producers negotiate rebates and different reductions behind closed doorways, leaving end-users at midnight. What distinguishes these two companies from others is the power to look at market inefficiencies brought on partly by a scarcity of transparency, after which search to right these issues.

It’s virtually assured that the regular progress of MCCPDC within the generics area will proceed in 2023. Nevertheless, as Mark Cuban’s firm makes an attempt to increase into new territory, like insulin and biosimilars, and ultimately branded medicine, the agency will face obstacles. Disruption in these areas gained’t be simple. Nonetheless, it might be folly to imagine that MCCPDC gained’t be capable of overcome the entrenched obstacles.