The pharmaceutical redistribution company MediCircle was the big winner at the Brown Venture Prize Pitch Competition, claiming the $25,000 first place prize that also comes with expert mentorship and networking opportunities. Viewers of the virtual event also voted MediCircle as the fan favorite.
The podcasting platform Castyr, which makes it easy for anyone to create and listen to podcasts, won the $15,000 second prize. And the edtech startup EmpowerU, which is working to help low-income students overcome the barriers between them and obtaining higher education, took home the $10,000 third place prize.
The Brown Venture Prize is an annual program and competition that identifies and supports student startups at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design that have the potential to create “impact at scale.”
Overall, eight finalists were selected for the pitch night including Bolden Therapeutics, Cress Health, DownBallot Solutions, Omena, and Workista. The event garnered its largest attendance ever this year, with more than 500 registrants and more than 320 people in attendance.
Founded by Brown juniors Jack Schaeffer and Eliza Sternlicht, MediCircle addresses health disparities by repurposing unused cancer medication. The company collects leftover oral chemotherapeutics pills, ensures the medicine is quality, and then redistributes the medicine to those in need.
“Patients need our medication since cancer costs are often unaffordable,” Schaeffer said during his pitch. “Forty-six percent of all American cancer patients are forced to make difficult decisions between life-saving medication and everyday essentials, and this makes sense when the average cost of cancer care is $150,000.”
According to Schaeffer, the U.S. spent $207 billion on cancer care last year, the equivalent of 1% of gross domestic product.
However, roughly a quarter of all cancer medication ends us getting wasted because cancer treatment plans are often adjusted due to adverse reactions, progression of the disease, or death, he said.
With MediCircle’s model, when patients return their unused medication, pharmacies will be able to donate it to MediCircle, which will be financially attractive, according to Schaeffer, because they will cut disposal costs and also receive tax credits.
Then the medication will be sent to MediCircle’s facilities in Summit, New Jersey, where the company will use technology to compile a medication history log.
A team of pharmacists will then perform quality assurance measures on each pill and then the medicine will be redistributed to pharmacies, where it can be dispensed to financially-burdened patients.
Schaeffer said the company’s lower-cost model will allow MediCircle to sell the medications to insurance companies for cheaper than they normally get it, while still being able to scale effectively and run profitably.
For example, Schaeffer said the average cost of chemotherapy is $10,000 per month, $8,000 of which is usually covered by insurance companies. MediCircle’s model will allow them to sell all of the necessary medication for one cancer patient to the insurance company for $4,000, allowing the insurer to cover the entire patient while reducing its costs.
Currently, medical redistribution is legal in 39 states, with legislation currently in progress to make it legal in the remaining U.S. states. Schaeffer estimates the company has a total addressable market of roughly $51 billion.
MediCircle plans to use its winnings to help pay for a pilot program that will ultimately redistribute needed medication to charitable clinics.
