Over the last decade, the number of drug candidates entering development has doubled, yet the number of successful drug approvals remains flat at ~50 per year.

This week, we sit down with Formation Bio founder and CEO Ben Liu. His company has raised more than $600 million to build what he hopes will become the first new enduring pharmaceutical company in decades, powered by AI. Ben explains why he believes clinical development, not drug discovery, is becoming the industry's biggest bottleneck, and how AI could fundamentally change the economics of bringing new medicines to patients.

Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost.

This week, co-host Halle Tecco is joined by Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx, to discuss the chaos of prescription drug pricing, the murky world of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and how digital tools are changing patient affordability. They break down the layered system of manufacturers, payers, and pharmacies that creates inconsistent pricing, and explore the current push for greater transparency.

Last year, his independent pharmacy spent $13 million on brand-name drugs for patients processed by the three biggest Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) which earned a profit margin of 0.01%.

In this episode, Halle speaks with Alec Ginsberg, owner and fourth-generation pharmacist at C.O. Bigelow, the oldest surviving apothecary–pharmacy in the United States. Alec is fighting against the forces squeezing independent pharmacies and charting a course for the future of the pharmacist.

More than 40% of Americans qualify as obese, a number that continues to rise. And despite being a multi-billion dollar business — the weight loss industry just isn’t helping people lose weight. Perhaps that’s why new GLP-1 medications, like Wegovy, are getting so much attention.

To learn if Wegovy can be a true game changer, I spoke to Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO of Found, the largest medically-supported weight care clinic in the country which has raised over $130M in venture funding.

Join us as we delve into the history of the weight loss industry, and discuss how telehealth (and responsible prescribing) along with new medications, may just be an inflection point.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company

Jake Eberts went viral from live tweeting his experience participating in a 11-day clinical trial for a dysentery vaccine. He told story in an incredibly humorous way on Twitter, and I just needed to know more. In this episode, Jake shares all the details from drinking the "shigella smoothie" to his thoughts on clinical trial ethics.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company

How Generic Drugs Became a National Security Issue