A smoother tech connection with a UPS subsidiary has propelled ScriptDrop Inc. to full nationwide coverage for prescription deliveries, including in rural and inner-city areas without easy pharmacy access.
Now delivering 1 million prescriptions every quarter, the company has more market share to go after – while leveraging its network of pharmacies and couriers to add more profitable services, CEO Amanda Epp said.
"Because we’ve built out this massive network, we now can work with health plans and pharmaceutical manufacturers in areas that do have a higher gross margin," Epp said in an interview. "We had to do a lot of the heavy lifting of building this network."
The Grandview Heights software maker has worked for more than a year with Roadie, an Atlanta startup that UPS acquired in fall. Roadie uses a gig economy model to match drivers with excess room in their personal vehicles with small and large businesses needing to make deliveries, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.
Now, ScriptDrop has an automated back-end tech connection, called an API, instead of manually placing requests on Roadie's platform, according to a release.
"This partnership has enabled us to say now we can get 100% of patients in the U.S.," Epp said. "When we add a pharmacy, we launch in all stores – we don't cherry-pick where there's density."
The integration also can insert ScriptDrop earlier in the prescribing process, such as during telehealth visits rather than waiting for an order to appear at a pharmacy. For example, if someone tests positive for Covid-19 via a virtual visit, they could get Paxlovid delivered within hours.
"Some of our first tests we did with Roadies from diagnosis to delivery were done in Athens, Ohio," Epp said. "Businesses in rural areas need support to get to patients and customers."
Uber, added as another third-party courier partner early last year, also continues to grow its business with the company, she said.
This summer marked a milestone: 10 million cumulative deliveries since ScriptDrop's software launched five years ago, about a year after its founding in 2016. Epp was the first employee and became the company's CEO in the spring of 2020.
"There still are a lot more prescriptions to get," Epp said.
Chains such as Kroger, Giant Eagle, Albertsons, Rite Aid and Publix use ScriptDrop for delivery, and the company also works with small independent pharmacies. Deeper penetration in rural areas can help those pharmacies reach a wider customer base while also helping those patients keep current with their medications and doctors' orders, especially if they don't own a car, Epp said.
"You may have every intent when leaving the doctor’s office to get to the pharmacy but life gets in the way," she said. "No matter where you’re at, you should have access to delivery."
The large network of pharmacies is drawing other customers, such as hospitals who want to ensure patients get their medications upon discharge, and keep taking them afterward.
While developing those partnerships and new target clients, Epp said she could not comment on how this year's revenue is tracking compared to 2021 – when it doubled over the prior year.
"We've refocused a lot," she said. "We continue to grow in an intelligent way."
The company has about 85 employees, unchanged from the start of the year – which was down from an early pandemic peak when it hired temporary workers to meet a surge in demand. But that sheltered it from the wave of job cuts hitting tech companies nationwide.
"Prudence has definitely kept us steady through all of this," Epp said. "We're in a nice reset phase: What's the talent we need next to help us on our journey in 2023?"
Closing a chapter
ScriptDrop had raised $1.64 million of a targeted $10 million equity round as of a Feb. 21 regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Nashville-based Caduceus Capital Partners announced in a release that week that it had invested. Epp said she could not comment on any funding efforts, which is typical when a round remains open.
On the same day as the SEC filing, ScriptDrop settled its legal dispute with founder and former CEO Nick Potts, according to Franklin County Common Pleas Court records.
The company had sued Potts in April 2021, saying he violated a non-disparagement clause as part of an earlier settlement over his contentious departure in 2020. Potts then counter-sued, saying he did not have faith the company would be able to pay him the rest of a $1.65 million share buyback under that agreement; he had received $100,000. The balance was due upon raising a Series B or 90 days into 2022.
The settlement terms are confidential, the February court filing said. Neither party could comment.
