Startup PBM Capital Rx closes $50M series B funding round

Startup pharmacy benefit manager Capital Rx has just closed a $50 million series B funding round.

The round was led by Transformation Capital and also included investment from Edison Partners, who led the PBM's series A round. The country's fastest-growing PBM, Capital Rx now serves hundreds of thousands of members and processes millions of prescriptions, according to the announcement.

“Capital Rx started its mission three years ago to change the way prescriptions are priced and serviced to create enduring social change,” said AJ Loiacono, CEO at Capital Rx, in a statement. “With this capital raise, we are excited to see our vision and technology accelerate an era of positive disruption in healthcare.”

The company first unveiled its "clearinghouse" model in 2019, which is designed to bring transparency to the pharmacy benefit. Capital Rx also avoids spread pricing, a controversial PBM practice in which an insurer is charged substantially more than the cost of a drug at the pharmacy, with the PBM then pocketing the difference.

RELATED: PBM startup Capital Rx launches new 'clearinghouse' drug pricing model 

Capital Rx also joined forces with Walmart last summer, with officials saying they aimed to bring greater price transparency to the drug market.

Last month, the PBM also launched its new JUDI platform, an enterprise pharmacy platform that is designed to reduce administrative costs and enhance the member experience. A suite of PBM operations including prior authorization, patient messaging and reimbursement are united within JUDI, the company said.

The platform is also cloud-native, Capital Rx said.

“The JUDI platform represents a significant leap forward in pharmacy benefit management,” said Jared Kesselheim, managing partner at Transformation Capital, in a statement. “The scalability, efficiency, and flexibility of JUDI allows employer groups, as well as health plans, to deliver the highest level of care at the lowest price point.”