Lupin, a Mumbai, India-based drug company, is collaborating with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. to sell its generic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug through the mail-order pharmacy.
Lupin's generic solution of tiotropium bromide inhalation powder is "the only generic product available that is therapeutically equivalent" to the brand-name Spiriva HandiHaler made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Lupin said in a Sept. 6 news release.
Cost Plus Drugs' website says the drug costs $439 at a retail pharmacy, and it's selling the COPD drug for $361.
Four other updates on Mark Cuban's drug company:
1. Cost Plus Drugs began selling TheracosBio's Brenzavvy (bexagliflozin), a Type 2 diabetes medication, in July. It was the 10th brand-name drug to be added to the company's portfolio.
2. The company is constructing an $11 million drug manufacturing facility in Dallas that's focused on producing drugs commonly falling into shortage. CEO and co-founder Alex Oshmyansky, MD, PhD, said Cost Plus Drugs plans to sell drugs to hospitals in fall 2023.
3. Its network of affiliate pharmacies increased from about 100 to more than 2,000 after securing deals with pharmacy chains spanning multiple states, including Kroger.
4. In mid-August, Blue Shield of California restructured its pharmacy services to shrink its yearslong contract with CVS and add Cost Plus Drugs as a preferred pharmacy network.