PillPack, a medication adherence business that was born at an MIT hacking medicine weekend, has raised a Series B round partly to boost its sales and marketing muscle through direct to consumer ads. CEO and co-founder TJ Parker told MedCity News in a phone interview that it’s testing its ability to reach customers offline through radio airwaves in August and soon may be expanding to television.
The $8.75 million Series B round attracted new investors to PillPack, according to a company statement, including Accel Partners, which led the round. Atlas Venture also participated., alongside seed and early stage venture investor High Line Venture Partners, QueensBridge Venture Partners, which invests in a mix of seed, early and late stage companies, and angel investors Andy Palmer, and David Tisch, co-founder of TechStars NYC and a managing partner of angel fund the BoxGroup. To date the company has raised $12.75 million.
Asked about the investors the company attracted Parker said, “We are trying to build a business that’s about a great customer experience and tech investors are good at understanding that.”
The company began the year with 12 staff and expects to have 25 by the end of 2014. Next year it hopes to increase it to 50. Although sales and marketing are a priority, designers and developers will be part of that growth, too. It is currently in 40 states but wants to be nationwide by the start of 2015.
The company dispenses medications into multi-dose packs. They arrive pre-sorted with the date and time of each dose on the label. Inhalers, creams, or as-needed meds are included depending on the needs of each order. Caregivers use the company’s Web-based dashboard to control medication, verify shipments and keep track of billing. Although seniors account for a big part of its end users, Parker points out that its customers cut across a variety of demographics that include people with chronic conditions on multiple medications as well as young people.
Parker, who has a pharmacist background, said he believes strongly in the philosophy of universal design. Soon after Parker formed the company with co-founder and CTO Elliot Cohen, it worked with design firm IDEO to get a better understanding of what individual pain points are for the pharmacy experience. That helped them figure out what should and should not be included on the dashboard.
Another key bit of news is the company receiving Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Accreditation in August. “It took one year to get that and is a huge milestone for the business,” Parker said.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The company is very determined to control its message to its end users and for that reason it has resisted seeking collaborations other than those that will help it fulfill drug orders accurately and efficiently. It accepts most prescription drug insurance plans, including a majority of Medicare Part D plans. It purchases drugs through wholesalers manages refills for customers by working with physicians and insurance providers. “We work within the existing system but we re-imagine the customer experience.”
