Vikash Agrawal and Vikram Agrawal, better known as “the Viks,” were born in India and immigrated to New York’s Capital Region in the mid-90s to pursue graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). After completing dual-Masters degrees at RPI, Vikash completed his MBA degree at Harvard Business School and worked in technology startups in Silicon Valley and Pittsburgh before returning to the Capital Region. Here he joined Vikram, who had started Etransmedia in the year 2000 at RPI’s Incubator Center while working on his Masters in Computer Science at RPI.
Focused on physician practices and health systems, Etransmedia was a digital health company with software that provided electronic health records, patient engagement, practice management, and revenue cycle solutions. The company grew to 700+ employees located in 10 offices nationwide, serving 15,000 physicians – Etransmedia was a huge success. In 2016, the company was acquired by a major hospital network.
After the transition, the Viks were ready to pursue new opportunities in the digital health industry. It was time to narrow focus, and they set their sights on the skyrocketing prices of the prescription drug industry.
Their task was not a small one. With prescriptions representing over 30 percent of all healthcare costs and the average consumer spending $1,200 annually on out-of-pocket costs, the Viks knew there was a huge need. However, the prescription marketplace is complicated, with big entrenched players, significant regulatory and commercial roadblocks and lacking communication among the transacting parties.
So, in 2016, Levrx was founded to do just that. They built a team to address this need with a digital health platform that connects payers, providers, pharmacy, and patients to manage prescription costs and improve health outcomes for patients. Working with multiple health plans across New York state, Levrx started its platform implementation in the Capital Region and established a strategic partnership with Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan (CDPHP).