A venture capitalist is launching a company today to create new drugs that mimic the effects of blockbuster drugs, and then sell them to insurers and hospital systems at a lower price, STAT reports.
Between the lines: The key question is whether insurers and hospitals will buy these new drugs over their competitors.
Just because a drug is cheaper doesn't mean that it'll get prescribed more often. That's partly because patients and doctors don't really like to switch to a new, cheaper medication.
By the numbers: CEO and chairman Alexis Borisy said that the company, EQRx, has raised $200 million. He hopes it'll start developing around 50 different drugs over the next decade.
Borisy's experience with starting drug and biotech companies is supporters' main reason for thinking this might work.
