Pharmaceutical villain Martin Shkreli was the inspiration for pharma’s beloved Mark Cuban. At least that’s what Cuban told Recode’s Kara Swisher at this year’s Code Conference.
“If he can jack things up at 1,500% or something, why can’t we cut it? Drugs co-founder Cuban said he gained notoriety under his leadership of Turing Pharmaceuticals, which has increased prices of drugs used to treat AIDS, malaria and cancer by more than 5,000 percent. It was referring to Shkreli.
About 18 million Americans were unable to pay their prescriptions, according to a survey last year by Gallup and West Health.
The Cuban, better known as an internet billionaire, shark tank An investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he is widely credited with helping bring down prescription drug prices for Americans. Cost Plus Drugs says it saves customers money by bypassing typical pharmacy benefit managers. They negotiate drug prices for employers and governments, but have been criticized for not passing on enough savings to consumers. While Cuban’s service is aimed at those who don’t have insurance or have high deductibles, Cost Plus offers customers 15% more than the cost of their medication, a $3 pharmacy fee, and a $5 shipping fee. We believe we can lower premium costs by creating a transparent pricing system that charges For everyone.
Shkreli recently hit back at Cuban in a Substack newsletter, claiming the billionaire exaggerated the company’s cost savings. Earlier this year, Shkreli was banned from the pharmaceutical industry and fined $64 million. He was jailed on unrelated charges and released this spring.
The Cuban company is only about seven months old, so it remains to be seen how much it will improve prescription drug costs for Americans.
“Someone comes up to you and says, ‘This is how we change big issues and make people’s lives better. Maybe we won’t make money, but at least we’ll make a profit doing it.’ You can reach a fork in the road.’ Why not?
