5 ms·

I totally respect the earned media game. A+ marketing. The actual business (so far) is pretty straight-forward: 1. Call an API to TruePill pharmacy 2. They fi

I totally respect the earned media game. A+ marketing. The actual business (so far) is pretty straight-forward: 1. Call an API to TruePill pharmacy 2. They fill it under the Costplus label and mail it. 3. Cost of drug is acquisition + a small markup that Costplus and Truepill share 4. Display the Truepill API fields in a NEXT.js website I totally respect Truepill operational chops too. Pharmacy is a very tough business. I am waiting for someone to figure out how to break the PBMs pricing-power (monoply-like) control over that business. That would be the true breakthrough. Maybe it would be costplus in a pivot. Or a regulatory change. Also - I deal with CivicaRX in a daily basis. It is a valiant attempt, but they have major shortcomings. FYI: If someone wants an API that really tells how much drug costs. (trust, but verify!) https://data.medicaid.gov/dataset/dfa2ab14-06c2-457a-9e36-5cb6d80f8d93/data?conditions[0][property]=as_of_date&conditions[0][value]=2022-05-25&conditions[0][operator]=%3D https://data.medicaid.gov/dataset/dfa2ab14-06c2-457a-9e36-5c...

tootie 4y ago
User acquisition is a big thing. There are loads of people (including doctors) who lean on brand name drugs when generics are available and it's largely about that brand. Drug names are obscure and drug brands become trusted. If Cuban can successfully build a brand with a lot of awareness then that has the potential to uplift the entire generics market. Even if the actual mechanics of the business are nothing special.
- jonathan-adly 4y ago
  It doesn't quite work like that in pharmacy! 1. Your insurance can and will block certain pharmacies if they got big enough (see PillPack before the Amazon acquisition). They have their own pharmacies and route the most profitable scripts there. 2. You would run into market size limitation if you decide to never accept insurance 3. Getting someone to switch their pharmacy requires major effort on their part - as well as the cooperation of all their doctors. It's almost like switching IT vendors!!
Dan_- 4y ago
Yeah it's all over Reddit too. I can't wait to read all about it in Ad Age and MM+M. It's a good campaign...burnishes Cuban's image while building the brand.
adolph 4y ago
Thank you for linking to that!

tootie 4y ago

User acquisition is a big thing. There are loads of people (including doctors) who lean on brand name drugs when generics are available and it's largely about that brand. Drug names are obscure and drug brands become trusted. If Cuban can successfully build a brand with a lot of awareness then that has the potential to uplift the entire generics market. Even if the actual mechanics of the business are nothing special.

jonathan-adly 4y ago
It doesn't quite work like that in pharmacy! 1. Your insurance can and will block certain pharmacies if they got big enough (see PillPack before the Amazon acquisition). They have their own pharmacies and route the most profitable scripts there. 2. You would run into market size limitation if you decide to never accept insurance 3. Getting someone to switch their pharmacy requires major effort on their part - as well as the cooperation of all their doctors. It's almost like switching IT vendors!!

Dan_- 4y ago

Yeah it's all over Reddit too. I can't wait to read all about it in Ad Age and MM+M. It's a good campaign...burnishes Cuban's image while building the brand.

adolph 4y ago

Thank you for linking to that!