And let's hear it for Mark Cuban!

You read the horror stories all the time, the most common are the ones about the diabetics who rationed their unaffordable insulin and died in the process. While this doesn't happen all that often, it does occur. And I've read that one out of four diabetics does resort to insulin-rationing which, if it doesn't kill you, does exacerbate the cascade of health problems that diabetics suffer from. And the high cost of insulin seems particularly galling, given that its discoverers "sold" the patent for $1 way back in the 1920's so that it could be widely used by those in need. 

While insulin is the one horror show medication that we hear the most about, with some cancer drugs being a close second, there are all kind of drug affordability trap doors that Americans fall through, even those who are well-insured. 

I'm fortunate in that the only prescription drug I take is a low-dose statin, which costs me about five bucks a month. But my brother who, like me is on Medicare with excellent supplemental insurance, falls into the "donut hole" of coverage and, one month a year, ends up paying $800 for one of his prescriptions. It's ghastly, but he can afford it. A lot of people can't absorb that type of hit.

Well, here comes Mark Cuban to the rescue.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban launched an online pharmacy Thursday that offers more than 100 generic drugs at an affordable price with a goal of being “radically transparent” in its price negotiations with drug companies.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company (MCCPDC) is a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler and purchases drugs directly from manufacturers,

bypassing middlemen to lower the price of more than 100 medications, it said in a statement.

For example, the leukemia drug imatinib is priced at $47 a month on MCCPDC compared to the $9,657 retail price.

The online pharmacy’s prices for generics factor in a 15% margin on top of actual manufacturer prices and a $3 pharmacist fee, the statement said.

The markup on generics average “at least” 100%, the MCCPDC said, while the Wall Street Journal reports in some cases it exceeds 1,000%. (Source: Forbes)

The company will also build its own manufacturing facility.  

Cuban - an entrepreneur who is one of the sharks on Shark Tank, and who also owns the Dallas Mavericks - got involved in response to a cold call (well, cold email) he got from Alex Oshmyansky (himself no slouch: among other things, he's a physician). Part of their motivation was the bad behavior of "Pharma Bro" Martin Shrkeli, who acquired a drug company and promptly jumped the price of the lifesaving drug they produced from $13.50 to $750 per pill. (Shrkeli is in prison for unrelated securities fraud.)

MCCPDC is mostly the brain child of Oshmyansky, but: 

[Cuban] said he decided to put his name on the company to “show capitalism can be compassionate and to send the message I am all in.” It’s not clear how much he had invested in the company.

Whatever he's all in for, Cuban's name on the door is clearly helping the new company gain attention and traction.

MCCPDC won't be all things to all patients - at least for now. Among other things, they offer generic replacements for some Type 2 diabetes pills, but nothing for insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetics who get their insulin via injection or pump. They also don't have a generic for the drug my brother is getting gouged for.

But it's a start.

We hear plenty about the not-so-great billionaires out there. Big buckers like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and their space race. Etc. (I won't be including Trump here, as I'm guessing he's a not-so-billionaire.) Nice to see Mark Cuban getting involved in something that will help a lot of people.

It's a shame though, isn't it, that we can't find a way to make drugs as affordable as they are in other countries, isn't it?