Courtesy Rx Clinic Pharmacy
A pharmacist consults with a patient at Rx Clinic Pharmacy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Hello,
Welcome to Dispensed, Business Insider's weekly healthcare newsletter. This week's edition is being written in sunny Palm Springs, California, though regrettably sent out back in chilly New York.
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Lydia Ramsey/Business InsiderProof I was somewhere warm this week!The big story I want to highlight this week came from a tag-team between Andrew Dunn and me.
We got the scoop on Dermatology.com, the website pharmaceutical company Bausch Health (remember Valeant Pharmaceuticals?) is using to get in on the trend of startups that are prescribing and shipping medication straight to your door.
Ever since I first started hearing about companies like Roman, Hims, or Nurx, I've been thinking it'd only be a matter of time before drugmakers themselves see this as a new way to reach patients. And when they do get interested, who are the companies they'll need to work with to pull that off?
What Bausch is doing with its dermatology drugs gives us a good idea of what we might expect.
- The pharmaceutical company Bausch Health is now selling prescription drugs online to treat conditions like acne, wrinkles, and eczema.
- The $9 billion drugmaker is following a strategy similar to buzzy startups like Roman and Hims, which use online doctor visits to prescribe Viagra and hair-loss pills online.
- "I believe that we are ahead of a mega-trend here," Bill Humphries, president of Bausch's Ortho Dermatologics business, told Business Insider.
- Dermatology.com is tapping the healthcare technology startup RxDefine to facilitate virtual visits with medical professionals.
Haven't jumped on the BI Prime wagon yet? You can use my link here to get 20% off your BI Prime subscription.
Earlier in the week, I got my hands on the pitch deck Troy Medicare's using to raise its series B. As more companies look to jump into the Medicare Advantage market, it was interesting to get a look at the startup's pharmacy-specific approach.
Continuing my deep-dive into the financials of primary care companies, I spoke to the team at Privia Health about its approach to taking the primary care business national.
As a reminder: Want to talk financials? Show me your pitch deck? I'm all ears! You can find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com.
Andrew spent some time up at Intercept Pharmaceuticals' Hudson Yards offices here in New York. There, he spoke with CEO Mark Pruzanski about what's ahead, should the company become the first drugmaker with an approved treatment for NASH, a liver condition that affects millions of Americans.
Intercept Pharmaceuticals
Intercept Pharmaceuticals CEO Mark Pruzanski
Come for the origins of Intercept, stay for Andrew's comprehensive analysis of the tough-to-crack market and why Pruzanski thinks he can turn Intercept's NASH drug into a blockbuster.
Andrew also has the latest on the race to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. On Tuesday, Sanofi jumped in the fray as well.
Here's a closer look at the pharma giant's approach.
I also wanted to highlight a story from our cannabis fellow, Yeji Lee. She took a close look at a CBN, or cannabinol, the latest cannabis compound companies are pitching to try and crack into the wellness industry.
The twist: CBN right now is 7X more expensive than CBD.
With that, I'll leave you to your weekends. I'm headed out to Colorado this weekend to see some snow and get some skiing in. Next week, you can look forward to Andrew's debut Dispensed hitting your inbox.
In the meantime, you can always find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com, or you can reach the whole healthcare team (please do while I'm out!) at healthcare@businessinsider.com.
- Lydia
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