With many people struggling to afford medicines, some have Advocate for government intervention in negotiating prices. But a new company led by a former CEO of a pharmacy benefits manager OptumRx Commitment to reduce drug costs by partnering with industry players across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Waltz Health was co-founded by veteran industry executive Mark Thierer, Announce It officially launched on Tuesday with a $35.4 million Series A round led by GV (formerly Google Ventures). Define Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, Blue Venture Fund, Byers Capital, Twine Ventures and other healthcare executives also contributed, according to the company.
PBMs have faced intense scrutiny for their role in broad drug pricing and the sticker shock many consumers face at pharmacy counters.Opaque pricing practices have caused even criticism from the industrysome smaller PBMs position themselves to do things differently.
But Waltz Health, founded by Mark Thierer and his son Jon Thierer (the company’s co-founder and VP of product), is taking steps to bring together seasoned industry executives and partner with existing players to deal with the rising method of drug prices. The new digital health company is developing what it says is a smarter, tech-enabled approach to pricing, dispensing and prescribing medicines.
“We are working with existing drug supply chain structures to realign incentives, lower prescription drug prices and return power to healthcare consumers,” Mark Thiel said in a statement. “Our mission starts with educating consumers about the plans available to save on life-saving drugs by partnering with their pharmacies. Our strategy is to provide software-driven solutions to address the biggest pharma challenges facing consumers and payers .”
Thierer said the company will rely on its technical team and in-house knowledge of the PBM market to help save consumers money. The first application it launched is Marketplace Search, a white-label online search engine that retail pharmacies will be able to offer to their customers. The app is yet to work with any pharmacies, but the company said it plans to announce several partnerships with major pharmacy chains this year.
According to Waltz Health, the AI-powered search engine, drawn from a curated portfolio of drug discount data sources, will analyze and display the most relevant and appropriate drug prices for a particular drug available to consumers. For retail pharmacies, Marketplace Search will allow them to enhance the customer experience and build customer loyalty, the company said.
“Waltz Health has created a more transparent and patient-centric way to pay for prescription drugs. Few people know this healthcare industry better than CEO Mark Thierer and the executive team,” Ben Robbins, venture partner at GV, said in a statement. “We believe that the company’s core leadership and technology-driven approach to reducing prescription costs will have a significant impact on the prescription care market, and we’re proud to be an early-stage investor. “
Photo: z_wei, Getty Images
