Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs Makes Diabetes Products More Affordable
Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company is now offering medications from a large drug manufacturer directly to people with diabetes at a reduced cost, a noteworthy development that proves the American billionaire entrepreneur can disrupt the pharmaceutical supply chain.
In a tweet on April 3, 2023, the company announced it is selling branded medications for type 2 diabetes from Janssen, a unit at Johnson & Johnson. The medications include Invokana® (Canagliflozin), Invokamet® (Canagliflozin-Metformin HCl) and Invokamet® XR (Canagliflozin-Metformin HCl).
The agreement with Johnson & Johnson marks the first time that a brand-name drugmaker has agreed to provide medications through Cost Plus Drugs. Vice President of Trade Relations and Pharmaceutical Contracting Ray Risman said this partnership demonstrates that there is a path forward for Cost Plus Drugs and single-source branded products. “It shows we can partner with top-tier pharmaceutical companies with transparency and bring meaningful savings to those in need,” expanded Risman.
Cost Plus Drugs CEO and co-founder, Dr. Alex Oshmyanksy, added how the company is prioritizing products for people with diabetes. The recently added SGLT-2s are a newer class of treatments that have clinically shown to have meaningful benefits for people with type 2 diabetes, including reducing the risk of other comorbid conditions. With Cost Plus Drugs offering Invokana at a more affordable price, it can improve access to SLGT-2 and its medical benefits to over 30 million Americans living with diabetes today.
They intend to add other medications as well—including GLP-1s, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), insulins and DPP4s.
“Unfortunately, Americans with diabetes have suffered from artificially inflated drug and supply prices for far too long,” Dr. Oshmyansky stated. “As a diabetic myself, I’ve experienced this issue first-hand, so adding more products for people with diabetes, at reasonable prices, is a top priority for us.”
Cost Plus Drugs is also exploring ways to continue to bring affordable insulin to the broader patient population with a simple user experience, in light of the recent price reductions announced by Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi.
Another initiative that the company is testing to bring more value to its users is the Team Cuban Card. The Team Cuban card will allow people to get Cost Plus Drugs’ low prices from their local pharmacy. This is not only an added convenience but can help save people with diabetes the extra cost of expensive cold-chain shipping from other mail-order pharmacies.
The price for Invokana at Cost Plus Drugs is $244 for a 30-day supply—a 50% savings compared to other direct-to-consumer pharmacy services or coupon vendors. It is available at costplusdrugs.com now for anybody who needs it.
Editor’s Note: People who take insulin require consistently affordable and predictable sources of insulin at all times. If you or a loved one are struggling to afford or access insulin, click here.
