Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy promising affordable prices on prescription medications is up and running.
The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company cuts out middlemen and negotiates directly with drug manufacturers and pharmacies for rebates and discounts on behalf of employers, health insurers and government health programs.
It says it’s offering the lowest direct-to-consumer prices on more than 100 medications, including those commonly prescribed for high cholesterol and blood pressure.
Cholesterol medication Atorvastatin typically costs over $55, according to the Cuban-backed company’s website. Cost Plus charges $3.60. High blood pressure prescription Amlodipine usually runs around $50. Cost Plus lists it at $3.30.
“The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company is trying to reduce patient’s drug costs by really any means necessary,” said CEO Alex Oshmyansky. “In our online pharmacy, we’ve essentially found a category of drugs which are extremely expensive, not really because of the price from the manufacturer, but because of the price markups due to middlemen in the supply chain, primarily pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmaceutical benefit managers.”
The company set up its own registered pharmaceutical wholesaler and bought drugs directly from manufacturers. It then sells the drugs at a flat 15% markup and a $3 pharmacist fee.
The pharmacy is cash only for now. By next year, Oshmyansky said the company hopes to allow customers to use their insurance.
Wednesday’s launch comes just a few weeks after the creation of Cuban’s pharmacy benefit manager operation, which works directly with the online pharmacy. Customers can go to the website and order generic versions of the medications to be shipped to their front door.
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs first launched under a different name in 2018 as a generic drug startup. A year ago, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, a Mt. Lebanon native, went public with his backing.
The company is now building an $11 million, 22,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Deep Ellum, Texas.
Oshmyansky said thousands of people created accounts when the website launched Wednesday.
“Our goal is not just to catch attention today, but to try to help people out every day, so hopefully we can keep the enthusiasm going,” Oshmyansky said.
