City officials in Columbus, Ohio, could hardly believe their luck. In less than a decade, $850,000 worth of state dollars for local startup CoverMyMeds appeared to have paid off many times over. Drug distribution giant McKesson Corp. acquired the company for $1.3 billion, a state record. At each stage of its development, CoverMyMeds, which makes software that automates insurance approvals for prescription drugs and sells it to doctors and pharmacists, had been nurtured by public money.
Image: ILLUSTRATION: TOMI UM FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
