Figure 1. Dr Dusetzina, Mr Cuban, and Dr Talwar.

Figure 2. Dr Dusetzina, Mr Cuban, and Dr Talwar at a live panel discussing The Journal of Urology® article, “Urological Drug Price Stewardship: Potential Cost Savings Based on the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Model,”1 on March 23, 2023.

At its core, health policy research aims to influence tangible sociopolitical landscape as it relates to medicine, with the ultimate goal of improving the overall health of the population. An analysis published in The Journal of Urology^® exploring the potential cost savings for the federal government if Medicare urological drugs had been purchased via Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Pharmacy (MCCPDC)¹ recently caught the attention of the billionaire entrepreneur himself. The analysis demonstrated that purchasing urological drugs via MCCPDC alone, Medicare would have cut costs by nearly $1.29 billion. After connecting several times with the article’s senior author, Dr Ruchika Talwar, to explore dissemination strategies given the staggering research findings, Mr Cuban visited the Vanderbilt University Medical Center campus for an in-person panel on MCCPDC on March 23, 2023. The panel was moderated by Dr Talwar and included Dr Stacie Dusetzina, a national leader in drug pricing research and professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University.

At the start of the panel, Dr Dusetzina provided an information overview of the current state of prescription pricing. She explained that part of the reason for rising drug costs is inherent to the Medicare Part D program design. Prior to 2006, most Medicare beneficiaries actually paid cash to obtain prescriptions, as the price was generally low and affordable. After prescription drug benefits were implemented, this provided an incentive for companies to increase prices. Outside of Medicare, she outlined that Americans face 2 major issues: being uninsured or underinsured. She stated, “There are too many entities in it who are making a lot of money. Everyone in the system will have to make less money if you want to fix this for patients.” That’s where Mark Cuban comes in.

Mr. Cuban next shared the genesis of his journey as a pharmaceutical industry disrupter. In response to a cold email by Dr Alex Oshmyansky, a physician who was looking to provide a solution to sky-high prescription drug prices, Cuban asked himself, “If the Pharma Bro [Martin Shkreli] can raise prices by 500%, can’t we cut prices by 500%?” He launched MCCPDC as a public benefit corporation to give patients access to low-cost drugs by providing price transparency and cutting out intermediaries such as pharmacy benefit managers. Each drug price is set using the following formula: cost of manufacturing the drug + 15% markup + a low, standard shipping/dispensing fee.

Launched in January 2022, the company now has over 2 million accounts, growth that far outpaced Mr Cuban’s expectations. This has created some challenges for the small company, which has approximately 40 employees, to keep up with demand. However, he shared with Dr Talwar that he hopes to continue to find new ways to shake things up in the industry. MCCPDC is building a manufacturing plant in Texas, plans to begin offering select brand name medications, and hopes to partner with local pharmacies to fill certain medications that may be difficult to ship due to temperature or packaging requirements, while still supporting community-based small pharmacy businesses.

As it relates to urological drugs, MCCPDC currently offers several, including abiraterone, alfuzosin, oxybutynin, solifenacin, tamsulosin, tolterodine, vaginal estrogen cream/tablet, sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil. In fact, Cuban shared that MCCPDC now supplies over 5% of the tadalafil market. A 30-count supply costs $4.80. He encouraged the audience to reach out to him directly via social media or email (and shared his address with those watching in person, via live stream, and on YouTube) with any drug requests. He emphasized the foundation of his business model is based on transparency, and thereby, trust, hence the reason MCCPDC is the only company that he has put his name on. Mr Cuban left the audience with his primary motivation: “I want to do something that my kids will be proud of.”

Miss the live stream? Watch the event video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHiWfQTk5w or access through the QR code.