Made to measure: Shaun Noorian

About a century ago, compounding pharmacies, which concoct bespoke medications tailored to individual patient needs, made up three-quarters of all prescriptions in the United States. However, as the pharmaceutical industry industrialized, this personalized approach to healthcare gradually faded, giving way to today’s pharmacies that dispense pre-manufactured drugs on a mass scale.

Now, compounded prescriptions only make up about two percent of all prescriptions dispensed in the United States.

In recent decades, compounding pharmacies have made a resurgence, with Empower Pharmacy leading the charge, leveraging technology and scientific expertise to deliver affordable, customized drugs at scale and revolutionizing patient care for millions of Americans.

"In the past 30 years, providers have learned that one pill does not fit the entire realm of all patient populations that may need a more tailored treatment protocol to better create the optimal outcome for that patient," says CEO Shaun Noorian, who founded the company 15 years ago.

"At our core, what we’re doing is changing the dosage strength, dosage form, or the dosage combination to ensure that the compounded medications that we make are unique and may better treat that patient than what is available on the commercial market today."

Empower Pharmacy is now the largest compounding pharmacy in the country and has established a formidable outsourcing facility – a hybrid compounding pharmacy and pharmaceutical manufacturer – capable of making tailored and backordered drugs in large batches. But the patient remains at the heart of everything it does.

"We are always looking out for what’s in the patient’s best interests," Noorian adds. "That drives every single decision we make in our company: What are they interested in? They are interested in consistent quality, affordable healthcare."

A personal journey

For Noorian, this passion to make personalized drugs accessible was ignited by his own healthcare journey. At the age of 24, he was treated with compound medication for low testosterone.

"When I got that treatment, it completely changed my life," he recalls. "I gained 15 pounds of muscle without having to work out. I normalized my testosterone levels, which caused me to also improve my libido, my stamina, my endurance, my motivation – all these things that I had been lacking my entire life."

The diagnosis and experience eventually drove him to switch from a career as a mechanical engineer to the unknown world of compounded medicine, but his engineering background has proved to be an asset in the company’s mission of providing manufacturing excellence and quality control.

"I’m very lucky to have been introduced to this industry," Noorian acknowledges. "And so, it’s my job to expand this luck to as many patients as possible. And to do that, it means expanding access to quality, affordable medication that empowers individuals to live healthier, happier lives."

Innovation & the future

Noorian explains that innovation and investment in state-of-the-art equipment and processes have been fundamental to Empower’s phenomenal growth, catapulting compounding pharmacy from a traditional mom-and-pop pharmaceutical into the modern era. Utilizing manufacturing technologies typically seen in larger manufacturing facilities has enabled Empower to scale up and place high-quality, affordable medicine into the hands of patients.

Technology has not only enhanced manufacturing but also created a seamless experience for customers, says Noorian. It has invested in better pharmacy management systems, enterprise resource planning platforms and customer relationship management programs that have streamlined processes, allowing patients and healthcare providers to check order status, easily send and clarify prescriptions, and get them processed promptly.

"We leverage technology automation that is traditionally seen among big pharma, but we are bringing it into the pharmacy realm so that we can produce these customized medications at scale," Noorian says.

"For example, by utilizing manufacturing technology, automated sterile filling lines and clean rooms we have been able to produce over a hundred million sterile and non-sterile dosage units to create the supply necessary to support scaling telemedicine companies and provider practices," Noorian says.

"Having that scalable infrastructure and forever expanding it, increasing capacity by 20 times on average every four years, gives us the ability to continuously keep up with the exponential demand for our services."

This demand has been fueled further by the consumerization of healthcare since the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced tens of millions of more patients to telemedicine and the functional medicine markets.

Integrating supply chains

The technology-led transformation of the entire pharmacy landscape, including its business model and operations, has allowed Empower Pharmacy to play to its strengths and move with the changing times.

"Something is not working currently in the United States," Noorian says. "And one of the problems is that the traditional infrastructure that serves patients directly – pharmacies – is dotted all throughout the country. So, you have a cost center on every street corner, and that is expensive. Because it’s so expensive, it’s very difficult to create value for the patient while still being able to run a business profitably.

"Our model is like the Amazon model, where instead of having all these local stores, you have massive manufacturing and distribution facilities. And by being the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the pharmacy all in one, we’ve vertically integrated the entire pharmaceutical supply chain. And by not accepting insurance, we’ve kicked out the insurance carriers and the PBMs, so there are no more middlemen."

This is what he reveals is the real secret to the success of Empower: creating an intimate, cost-effective relationship with its customers.

"In the next 20 years, I see Empower as being part of this new pharmaceutical supply chain that is being created in this country," he says.

Detailing the plans for the company over the next two years, Noorian says it will focus on expanding product offerings in the functional medicine space; enhancing manufacturing capabilities and increasing distribution reach; leveraging technology to optimize its supply chain; and ensuring high-quality medicines.

"Additionally, we’re committed to forging strategic partnerships that align with our mission and vision, as well as investing in research and development to drive innovation in personalized medicine," he adds.

Leadership style

Part of Empower’s success can be attributed to its employees and Noorian’s supportive leadership style, where he encourages open dialogues and values diverse perspectives, which fundamentally foster innovation and drive processes.

"I believe in empowering our team to take ownership of their work while providing them with the support and resources they need to succeed.

"It’s really about empathy and accountability. In order to empower your staff, you’ve got to understand where they’re coming from, both personally and professionally. Then you need to build in the framework for them to be able to report certain KPIs for the teams underneath them and then make them visible to everybody throughout the organization. So we’re all on the same page, understanding where we may need help in some areas of the company.

"Additionally, I prioritize continuous learning and self-improvement, giving those same resources to the rest of our team in order to ensure that we remain adaptable and forward-thinking in this dynamic industry."