Photon Health Raises $9M to take on the $700 Billion Prescription Drug Industry
Photon Health Raises $9M to take on the $700 Billion Prescription Drug Industry
Photon powers patient-friendly pharmacy experiences and automates tedious admin work so clinicians can spend more time on what matters.
Photon Health, a Brooklyn-based startup co-founded by Otto Sipe, Michael Rado, and Sam Kotlove, is taking a novel approach to disrupt the prescription drug market, an industry notoriously difficult for newcomers due to its complex network of intermediaries and entrenched giants. Launched in 2021, Photon Health aims to simplify the prescription process by offering a digital platform where patients can manage their prescriptions, compare drug prices, and select pharmacies for pickup or home delivery. This model not only enhances transparency but also introduces competitive pressure to potentially lower drug prices, addressing a market worth $700 billion in the U.S. alone.
Photon's strategy involves selling e-prescribing software to healthcare providers, allowing them to send prescriptions directly to patients via text. This empowers patients to easily choose from various pharmacies, including national chains and mail-order options. Despite facing a formidable competitor in Surescripts, a company with a dominant 95% market share, Photon has gained traction with over 70,000 prescriptions handled monthly and has secured over $16 million in funding. CEO Otto Sipe remains optimistic, believing that the growing demand for a better prescription experience could be the key to overcoming entrenched industry challenges.
Read more in Fortune and on Photon’s Blog.