October 16, 2024

'This is literally the easiest industry to interrupt'

If it weren't for Martin Shkreli, better known as the Pharma Bro, Mark Cuban might not have gone into the drug business.

That's what he told Torie Bosch in this week's episode of the "First Opinion Podcast." He first started speaking with Alex Oshmyansky — the radiologist who would become his co-founder in Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs — around when Shkreli was heading to prison. Cuban asked about how Shkreli radically raised the price of Daraprim, and the answered startled him. According to Cuban, Oshmyansky said, "'Well, he can buy it and sell it for whatever he wants, particularly since he's got an exclusive on the manufacturing.' I'm like, 'that's insane. Let me dig some more in.' And it became quickly obvious that the pharmacy industry is as opaque as any industry … I've ever been involved with, and that the easiest way to counteract opacity is transparency."

STAT's Matthew Herper also joined the conversation to discuss pharmacy benefit managers, the 2024 presidential campaign, and how the health care industry should work.

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