On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about John ↗
In their words
What's the problem? It's just a form, not so bad, right? But prescribers don't always know when the form is required and which form to use.
My company had about 5% of the market, and that year it sent 220,000 faxes. Gross that up — that's 4.4 million faxes a year going out to support this process for Canadians.
If the drug isn't covered today, the rate is 85% of patients will not receive that medication within six to nine months of the original prescription. We call that prescription abandonment.
Quick answers
Who is John Leombruno?
CEO of OkRx, an Oakville, Ontario healthtech company for specialty-medication care. He founded Leven Systems and presented it at TechTO in 2019, and earlier built and sold two pharma patient-support businesses to McKesson Canada.
What did he present at TechTO?
The paperwork behind specialty-drug approval in Canada — prior-authorization forms and faxes that cause 'prescription abandonment' — and the software Leven Systems built to digitize it: real-time drug-coverage checks and electronic prior authorization.
What did John Leombruno do before Leven Systems?
He co-founded Patient Direct and GMD PharmaSolutions, two pharma patient-support and specialty-pharmacy businesses, both acquired by McKesson Canada. He holds a pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Queen's.