Worldwide, the pharmaceutical industry generated a total of 1.27 trillion dollars in 2020. Responsible for distributing, producing, and managing medicines, the pharmaceutical industry continues to involve and so do the companies it serves. A Michigan-based pharmaceutical company is celebrating 20 years of service and plans to impact the community with more than just medicine.
Headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, ScriptGuideRX, Inc, or SGRX, is one of the leading names in pharmaceuticals. Privately owned, SGRX provides Pharmacy Benefit Management and Third Party Administration to companies across the United States; both private and public. Originally founded in 2001, the minority-owned company has acquired a growing reputation and has graced Crain’s list of African American and Minority Owned Businesses in 2021.
In its 20 years, SGRX has continued to grow its network. A year riddled by a pandemic proved to be one of the most successful years for the company. Earning more than 100 million dollars in prescription benefit drug spend in 2020, SGRX also added customers in the State of Carolina, increasing the number of States with customers to 12.
Tackling the fight against COVID from a different front, SGRX got a firsthand look at how the virus had begun to affect the pharmaceutical industry. SGRX was able and how employers struggled to keep their employees covered.
“We also lost customers because of the pandemic. Our business is such that we’re constantly competing with organizations in our space and our groups are primarily employee groups also who are looking, over the past year, to survive. Some of them had to make some drastic changes to survive and get benefits which also impacted us,” says Ime Ekpenyong, CEO of ScriptGuideRX. “We lost some, but we also ended on a positive note and the net effect was positive for us and that’s what helped us hit that milestone.”
Expanding their Pharmacy Benefit Management and Third Party Administration Services to include 340B Administration Services and Medication Therapy Management Services, the pharmaceutical brand has also expanded its Prescription Savings Program, SGRXSaves, to include all major pharmacy chain locations nationwide.
“There are probably, nationwide, less than three organizations that we know of that are certified minority business enterprises in this space, so it’s something we’re very proud of. From a social responsibility standpoint, we do our part to make sure we also give back by ensuing minority businesses get work. We’re intentional about supporting African-American owned businesses and minority businesses in our space,” says Ekpenyong. “We make sure every opportunity we have to work with vendors, we make sure we include organizations that are minority-based organizations. From a personnel standpoint, we make sure we’re intentional about including individuals of a minority descent.”
Targeting the underinsured and those who have no pharmacy coverage, SGRX’s Prescription Savings Program aims to help individuals receive discounts on prescription drugs.
“Our plan is to continue to grow. One of the blessings for our business is that we are a nationwide organization. We recently procured customers in Hawaii, and business in the US Virgin Islands. We have the infrastructure to operate nationwide. One of the greatest assets we own is our network. We have 60,000 pharmacies nationwide and our goal is to capitalize off that,” says Ekpenyong. “In addition, we’re expanding our Prescription Savings Program, which is one of the few products we have that targets individuals.”
For the future, SGRX plans to press full-steam ahead towards evolving as a company, including expanding on already established practices. SGRX opened two satellite offices in 2021; one in Nashville, Tennessee and the other in the heart of downtown Detroit. Though the Michigan market has been tough for the company to break into, its home base
“We’ve had challenges penetrating this market because our larger competitors have done a great job of convincing the smaller groups they’re the only option. So, our goal is to work harder over the next year to open up those doors,” says Ekpenyong. “We’re focused on the automotive sector. That sector was hit really hard over the last year and a half so we believe we can come in and significantly reduce their healthcare costs if given the opportunity.
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