GoodRx: 2020 CNBC Disruptor 50

Founders: Doug Hirsch (co-CEO), Trevor Bezdek (co-CEO), Scott Marlette
Launched: 2011
Headquarters: Santa Monica, California
Funding: $178.7 million (PitchBook)
Valuation: $2.8 billion (PitchBook)
Key technologies: AI, machine learning
Industry: Online pharmacy, health care, insurance
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 1 (No. 6 in 2019)

GoodRx is a marketplace for affordable and convenient health care. The company’s free app and website helps over 10 million people a month find the best prices at more than 70,000 pharmacies nationwide. The company says its discounts save Americans up to 80% on nearly all FDA-approved drugs and can be used by folks with and without health insurance. GoodRx says since its founding it has saved Americans over $15 billion.

View the FULL LIST: 2020 DISRUPTOR 50

The company was launched when former Yahoo executive Doug Hirsch needed to fill a prescription and was shocked by how much it cost, and even more appalled at how difficult it was to comparison-shop for a lower price. The following year, he helped start GoodRx. The range between prices can be substantial since there’s usually a big difference between generic and brand-name drugs, and also because pharmacies negotiate independently with drug makers and insurance companies. 

GoodRx partners with major companies including CVS, Target, Walgreens, Kroger and Walmart. In addition to Hirsch, co-founders Trevor Bezdek and Scott Marlette each have extensive technology backgrounds — Bezdek founded several tech companies, and Marlette was an early employee of Facebook. GoodRx’s database has 1.2 million real-time prices, and they are constantly being updated to give consumers the best options. The company makes money by the advertisements on its site. To date it’s raised $178.7 million. 

In September the company launched GoodRx Care to provide online medical visits for fast and easy treatment, prescriptions and lab tests for routine medical issues. Americans with or without insurance can see a board-certified doctor for only $20, all from the comfort of their own home. GoodRx Care comes at a time when there is a shortage of primary-care physicians, and when patients are worried about visiting doctor’s offices during the coronavirus pandemic. To help out during the crisis, GoodRx rolled out a free HeyDoctor by GoodRx Covid-19 assessment. After patients answer 15 questions, a board-certified doctor or nurse provides recommended next steps, informed by current CDC guidelines. The company says over 15,000 patients conducted a Covid-19 assessment, and patients exchanged more than 10,000 messages to ask follow-up questions.