RetailMeNot, an Austin-based digital and in-store discount company, announced Tuesday that it is acquiring Salt Lake City-based LowestMed in a bid to capture a portion of the massive market for prescription medications.
Under the deal, LowestMed will be rebranded as RetailMeNot Rx Saver. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
The move is poised to help the combined companies compete with a growing crop of pharmaceutical discount startups, including GoodRx and Blink Health. LowestMed was founded in 2009, and it was amongst early players offering prescription price comparisons across a variety of pharmacies.
As part of RetailMeNot, the service will provide coupons on FDA-approved medications and show prices available at nearby pharmacies. Americans spend hundreds of billions on prescription drugs each year, and, like much of the rest of America's medical industry, prices often increase dramatically with little explanation. Statista estimates the average American spent $1,162 on prescription drugs in 2017.
For example, a search on the new RetailMeNot Rx Saver site shows the cost of 30 pills of generic Zoloft, with available discounts, varies from $9.50 to $20.94.
“Many consumers don’t know that they can easily save money on their prescription medications," RetailMeNot founder and CEO Cotter Cunningham said in a news release. "The addition of RetailMeNot Rx Saver helps RetailMeNot consumers save on more of the things they need, making this another step toward RetailMeNot becoming the ultimate savings destination.”
RetailMeNot is in the midst of a significant shift as it branches out from its core digital discounts model to reach consumers' mailboxes by rebranding RedPlum, a direct-to-mailbox coupon publication, as RetailMeNot Everyday and by adding in-store cash back offers.
