An Entrepreneur's Mission to Revolutionize PBMs | A.J. Loiacono, Capital Rx

Show Overview: We discuss the evolution of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry with AJ Loiacono, founder and CEO of Capital Rx. AJ shares his experiences as an entrepreneur aiming to disrupt incumbent PBM models and practices. https://www.cap-rx.com/ 00:00 Introduction 00:23 AJ Loiacono introduces himself and Capital Rx 01:02 Changes in the PBM industry over the past 2 years 02:18 Role of modern communication and social media 03:06 The growth in prescription drug spending 04:42 Drug inflation and the shift from gross to net pricing 08:55 The complex and opaque drug supply chain 10:40 The need for PBM regulation and oversight 15:27 Capital Rx's competitive spirit and mission 18:52 Building out Capital Rx's leadership team 21:31 The challenge of tracking true drug prices 25:31 Expanding into government claims processing 26:11 Leading a growing organization as CEO 31:40 Most stressful times as an entrepreneur 37:14 Conviction as an entrepreneur 42:41 Precarious position of a startup CEO 46:17 Why some founders give up 48:15 AJ's Entrepreneur of the Year award 50:13 Being a "minmaxer" in business 52:00 Avoiding startup founder cliches 56:28 AJ's enthusiasm two years later 57:01 Outro The Business of Pharmacy Podcast™ offers in-depth, candid conversations with pharmacy business leaders. Hosted by pharmacist Mike Koelzer, each episode covers new topics relevant to pharmacists and pharmacy owners. Listen to a new episode every Monday morning.