The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company—which launched an online pharmacy last year to “disrupt and disable big pharma” by offering more than 100 generic drugs “at striking savings” direct to consumers—is partnering with a Phoenix-based startup that’s doing some disrupting of its own.
Alex Oshmyansky
Cost Plus Drugs announced today that it’s teaming up with Drexi, a pharmacy benefit manager that calls itself a “virtual wellness assistant” offering “honest pricing and better benefits, one prescription at a time.”
Like Cuban’s startup, Drexi aims to disrupt a big pharma model it sees as filled with “waste and ridiculously over-inflated charges.” The company says it helps consumers save money on prescriptions by letting them know the costs at pharmacies in their area. It also helps people keep track of their prescriptions as a “wellness partner.”
Alex Oshmyansky, CEO of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, said his company is excited to work with Drexi.
“We already offer transparent, low prices to cash-pay consumers and are excited to now be working with Drexi to further reduce the cost to patients, and to keep the patient record complete from both a clinical and financial perspective,” Oshmyansky said in a statement.
Tackling the prescription ‘affordability’ problem
Anthony Masotto
“As a practicing physician I saw first-hand the danger of patients not taking their medications because they couldn’t afford them,” Oshmyansky added. “I founded the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to help solve this problem and provide a way for patients to receive their medication at an affordable price.”
Drexi is on the same page.
Anthony Masotto, GM and EVP Pharmacy at Drexi, says his company’s mission “is to empower every one of our members to prioritize their health without the worry and undue burden of unaffordable medications.”
Drexi says it’s providing its self-funded plans with “the ultimate savings opportunity” through a “comprehensive and transparent approach, merged with the innovative and unmatched pricing of Cost Plus Drugs.”
“The significance of adhering to the right medication at the right price goes beyond convenience,” Masotto added in a statement. “It’s a vital step in mitigating unexpected health complications and the associated financial strain it has on individuals and families across the country.”
‘Leading the charge into a fresh era of proactive pharmacy consumerism’
Since its founding in 2013, Drexi says it has been “diligently crafting” an advanced platform aimed at enhancing members’ ability to make well-informed choices regarding their prescription medications. Now, through its collaboration with Cost Plus Drugs, Drexi says it will provide members with an additional channel “through which they can more effectively recognize cost savings opportunities and act on them: empowering them to take back control of their healthcare spending.”
Together, Mark Cuban’s company and Drexi said they are “leading the charge into a fresh era of proactive pharmacy consumerism, shaking up the traditional norms.”
Cost Plus Drugs now carries over 1,000 prescription products
Rendering of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Plant in Dallas’ Deep Ellum [Image: Jacobs]
When it launched its online pharmacy in January 2022, Cost Plus Drugs offered “more than 100 generic drugs” at actual manufacturer prices plus a flat 15% margin and a pharmacist fee of a few bucks.
Some of its example savings were truly staggering. Imatinib, a leukemia treatment, retailed for a shocking $9,657 per month. MCCPDC’s price in January 2022: $47 per month.
Since then, Cost Plus Drugs has dramatically increased its product offering, and now carries over 1,000 prescription products, “delivered by mail to thousands” of customers daily.
To help fuel its business, Cost Plus Drugs announced last year it was building an $11 million, 22,000-square-foot generic drug manufacturing plant at 3015 Taylor Street in Deep Ellum.
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