MCLEAN, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Crux, the first benefits platform partnering with big pharma and employers of all sizes to expand transparent and affordable access to transformative quality-of-life (QoL) medications, today announced its public launch with $6.5 million in pre-seed funding from Red Cell Partners, a venture studio that builds rapidly scalable, technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in critical industries like healthcare.
U.S.-based employers can join Crux’s waitlist at getcrux.com to learn more about the upcoming medications Crux will be offering and begin onboarding their organizations and employees. Employers will be able to make their configuration choices in January, and the first prescriptions will be delivered in or before February 2026.
By combining employers’ non-taxed subsidies with employee dollars, Crux becomes the first benefits platform to bring high-demand QoL therapies—popular, yet expensive, medications and treatments that typically require ongoing use to support overall health and wellbeing, but are often not covered by insurance—within financial reach of those who desire them.
Crux, founded in 2024, will partner with global pharmaceutical manufacturers to give American employers access to QoL medications at significantly discounted rates with no markups or hidden fees. The Crux platform will enable:
- Simple and uncomplicated access to QoL medications at a competitive price point, with no coupons, no rebates, or burdensome reimbursement measures required
- A turn-key healthcare purchasing experience for employers
- Employers to set their own contribution levels, configure their member experience with unmatched choice and autonomy, and choose their own care-support vendors, if desired.
- Employers to pay only for the benefits their employees use without incurring any upfront or recurring costs
- Employers to make non-taxed contributions to lower out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries
- The ability to join at any time, without being restricted by open enrollment periods
- Employees to access free and optional engagement tools and educational resources
- Expedited next-day delivery on all orders
“The economics of integrated pharmacy benefits have been working against U.S. employers and beneficiaries for far too long, keeping breakthrough medications out of reach for most Americans. It’s time for that to change,” said Crux Co-founder and CEO Chip Nash. “Crux delivers significant value for our nation’s forward-thinking employers, giving them the unique opportunity to meet unprecedented levels of demand from employees with thoughtful, employer-sponsored programs that deliver better economic terms, allow for flexibility, and empower employees with more choice when it comes to their health and wellbeing.”
The Crux team brings extensive experience scaling employer benefits programs, having previously led and expanded similar offerings at Rally Health, one of the first consumer-centric digital health companies, which was acquired by UnitedHealth Group in 2017. The Crux team is led by:
- Grant Verstandig, Co-founder & Executive Chairman: Verstandig was the founder and CEO of Rally Health, and after its acquisition by UnitedHealth Group, served as UHG’s Chief Digital Officer, responsible for the strategic direction, governance, and performance of digital platforms. He has since founded multiple companies in the healthcare and defense sectors.
- Chip Nash, Co-founder & CEO: Nash has spent more than 20 years in digital healthcare and product leadership. He joined Rally Health as employee #3 to scale the company across the employer, commercial payor, and Medicare markets, helping it become the largest incentives platform in healthcare, processing more than $2 billion of incentives.
- Naimish Patel, Co-founder: Patel is the former Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions at Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, and was employee #1 at Rally Health. At Rally, he held numerous leadership roles as a growth leader across all business segments and was responsible for helping to scale the organization to over $1 billion in revenue.
“After scaling Rally to over $1 billion in revenue, I learned that the hardest problems in healthcare aren’t clinical, they’re structural. With the popularity of medications like GLP-1s soaring among employees for not just weight loss but addiction, sleep, and more, these miracle drugs may well be the greatest medicine to come along since the discovery of penicillin. Employers want to meet the demand, but the existing infrastructure makes it impossible. Red Cell incubated Crux to build a chassis that works,” said Verstandig, who is also the founder and CEO of Red Cell Partners. “Crux exemplifies the Red Cell thesis: a massive market failure—where 160 million Americans are unable to access the quality-of-life medications they desperately want—is addressed by a team with a proven playbook for building employer-sponsored programs at massive scale. Chip, Naimish, and I did this before at Rally, and now we’ve set our sights on doing it again at Crux to create an asymmetric opportunity in a category where the incumbents have failed to meet market needs.”
Interested employers can join the waitlist at getcrux.com
About Crux
Crux is a benefits and lifestyle engagement platform partnering with big pharma and employers of all sizes to make transformative medications affordable and accessible. By negotiating significant pricing discounts directly with drug manufacturers, Crux provides employers with a comprehensive, easy-to-implement solution and empowers employees to access the medicines they want most. Visit us at getcrux.com and follow us on social media (LinkedIn, X, Instagram).
About Red Cell Partners
Red Cell Partners is a venture studio building rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in healthcare, cyber, and national security. United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation, Red Cell is developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation’s most pressing problems. Visit us at redcellpartners.com and follow us on social media (LinkedIn, X, Instagram).
Contacts
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Ryan Whittle
Director of Communications and Media
press@redcellpartners.com