3 Axis Advisors

What 3 Axis Advisors does

3 Axis Advisors is a privately held healthcare consulting and research firm founded in 2018 in Dayton, Ohio (now operating from Columbus, Ohio) that specializes in exposing inefficiencies and cost-drivers in the U.S. prescription drug supply chain through data-driven analysis. The firm's work centers on the analysis of prescription drug claims data, pharmacy reimbursement trends, PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) spread pricing, hospital chargemaster pricing, and drug supply chain economics. Core technical capabilities include large-scale claims data analytics (with engagements covering hundreds of millions of claims), financial risk modeling for retrospective PBM contract pricing, and structured normalization of hospital chargemaster files into comparable drug pricing datasets. The firm publishes named research outputs — including the Drug Pricing Blame Game, Washington State Prescription Drug Pricing Analysis, Medicare Maximum Fair Price analysis, and Hospital Drug Prices report — and operates the public-facing hospitaldrugprices.org dashboard.

The firm operates on a project-based professional services model, delivering sponsored research reports and consulting engagements to state Medicaid agencies, state and local auditors and attorneys general, state pharmacy associations, national associations (NCPA, Community Oncology Alliance, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions), employer/purchaser coalitions, and issue-aligned organizations (PBM Accountability Project, Patient Rights Advocate). It also powers 46brooklyn Research, an affiliated Ohio non-profit focused on drug pricing transparency. The core team of four (President Antonio Ciaccia, VP of Pharmacy Ben Link, Senior Analyst Matt Wine, Operations Manager Ceili Boston) brings direct operating experience as pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, PBM staff, and government affairs professionals. Go-to-market is sales-led, driven primarily by thought leadership content, frequent earned media coverage in major outlets, conference presentations, and formal legislative testimony.

Name

3 Axis Advisors

Legal name

3 Axis Advisors

Website

https://3axisadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

3 Axis Advisors is a 4-person healthcare consulting firm that delivers data-driven research and policy analysis on U.S. prescription drug pricing, serving state Medicaid agencies, state and national pharmacy associations, employer coalitions, and government watchdogs through commissioned reports and the hospitaldrugprices.org dashboard.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Drug Pricing Consulting & Research

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Pharmacy Benefit Analytics, Reporting & Employer Consulting (HLAEAKAK)

Keywords

• Pharmacy benefit management consulting
• Drug pricing research
• Pharmacy claims analysis
• Healthcare cost transparency
• PBM reform advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting services: Project-based consulting engagements with government agencies, pharmacy associations, plan sponsors, and other healthcare stakeholders requiring drug pricing analysis and policy research.
2. Sponsored research reports: Research reports sponsored by industry organizations, non-profits, and government bodies investigating specific aspects of the prescription drug supply chain.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

3 Axis Advisors is a healthcare research and consulting firm that exposes and simplifies inefficiencies in the U.S. prescription drug supply chain through data-driven analysis. It provides project-based consulting, sponsored research reports, claims-data studies, and policy analysis to government agencies, pharmacy associations, employer plan sponsors, and non-profit healthcare organizations. Deliverables focus on drug pricing transparency, pharmacy benefit management practices, hospital drug price variation, and Medicaid program drug spending analysis.

Product overview

3 Axis Advisors is a healthcare research and consulting firm specializing in prescription drug supply chain analysis and pricing transparency. Rather than offering a unified software platform, the company delivers a portfolio of research reports, analytical studies, and data dashboards. Their core offerings include: (1) flagship research reports analyzing drug pricing patterns across hospitals, Medicare programs, and state Medicaid systems; (2) state-specific pharmacy reimbursement trend analyses; (3) PBM business model and spread pricing investigations; and (4) a public hospital drug prices dashboard (hospitaldrugprices.org) built in partnership with Patient Rights Advocate. The company also powers 46brooklyn Research, an Ohio non-profit focused on drug pricing data accessibility. All offerings are advisory and analytical in nature rather than software-as-a-service products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 46brooklyn Research: An Ohio non-profit corporation whose purpose is to improve the accessibility and usability of U.S. drug pricing data. 3 Axis team dedicates significant time and resources to power this research organization.

Products and services

• Drug Pricing Consulting and Research Services Project-based consulting, sponsored research, and data-driven analysis engagements on prescription drug pricing, pharmacy benefit management, and state Medicaid drug spending for government agencies, pharmacy associations, employer plan sponsors, and healthcare non-profits.
• Hospital Drug Prices Dashboard Interactive web dashboard built in partnership with Patient Rights Advocate that provides public access to reported prescription drug prices from over 1,300 U.S. hospitals, enabling exploration and comparison of hospital drug pricing data.

Quantifiable outcome

• Identified up to $27.4 billion in commercial market exposure to retrospective pricing risk in PBM contracts.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• 46brooklyn ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner46brooklyn Research is an Ohio non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the accessibility and usability of U.S. drug pricing data. The 3 Axis team dedicates significant time and resources to power this organization, which serves as a complementary research platform for drug pricing transparency initiatives.
• National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser CoalitionsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned 3 Axis Advisors to examine systemic financial risk embedded in retrospective pricing and rebate guarantees in PBM contracts across commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid markets. The research quantified how small variances in benchmark pricing translate into material changes in net plan costs.
• Patient Rights AdvocatemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored the comprehensive hospital drug pricing analysis examining over 1,300 hospital chargemaster files. Patient Rights Advocate used findings to support their nationwide hospital drug price finder tool launch.
• Washington State Pharmacy AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsor of the state of Washington prescription drug pricing analysis examining pharmacy benefits and reimbursement trends. The study analyzed more than nine million prescription drug claims from 2020 to 2023.
• Washington Health AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with 3 Axis Advisors on the Washington state study, providing access to commercial employer data for analyzing drug pricing from both pharmacy provider and plan sponsor perspectives.
• National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored research on the financial impacts of Medicare drug price negotiation on pharmacy cash flows, analyzing how the Maximum Fair Price program affects pharmacy reimbursement and profitability.
• American Pharmacy Cooperative, Inc (APCI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding for the comprehensive drug pricing blame game analysis studying 32.6 million retail pharmacy claims to understand factors influencing prescription drug costs at U.S. retail pharmacies.
• KalderosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned 3 Axis Advisors to study the potential cash flow impacts of the Kalderos 340B rebate model, which aims to add transparency to 340B program pharmacy transactions.
• Frier Levitt and Community Oncology AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on an extensive deep-dive into PBM practices that can exacerbate high drug prices, restrict patient choice, and create market distortions. 3 Axis provided data analysis and infographics derived from prior analyses of millions of prescription drug claims.
• PBM Accountability ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHired 3 Axis Advisors to provide analysis on federal drug pricing proposals, evaluating policy proposals related to PBM compensation delinking, patient steering, and transparency requirements.
• Oregon State Pharmacy AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned review of reimbursement trends between payers and retail pharmacies in Oregon, investigating differential pricing and PBM spread pricing among Medicaid retail pharmacy networks.
• Michigan Pharmacists AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned assessment of generic drug spread pricing within Michigan's Medicaid managed care program, estimating the extent of spread practices on at least $250 million annual generic drug spending.
• Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned investigation of pharmacy reimbursement trends following state health policy commission concerns about PBM black box practices, including spread pricing, underwater reimbursements, and specialty medication trends.
• Illinois Pharmacists AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned analysis of changes in reimbursements and state costs resulting from Illinois Medicaid managed care expansion affecting community pharmacists.
• Pharmacists Society of the State of New YorkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned estimation of the nature and extent of spread pricing within New York Medicaid managed care program using pharmacy data samples.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Turquoise Health: Healthcare price transparency platform focused on hospital and payer negotiated rates under the Transparency in Coverage rule. Comparable to 3 Axis in transparency mission and use of hospital pricing data, but delivered via a software platform rather than consulting.

Broad incumbents

• Xcenda: Part of AmerisourceBergen, Xcenda provides pharmaceutical consulting including payer policy research, drug pricing analytics, and market access strategy. Adjacent to 3 Axis's PBM and pricing work but operates at much greater scale and is integrated with a drug distribution leader.
• Avalere Health: Larger healthcare strategy consulting firm serving payers, providers, pharma, and government on drug pricing, coverage, and policy. Overlaps with 3 Axis on PBM and drug-pricing analytics but with a broader, multi-vertical practice and significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Drug Channels Institute: Adam Fein's research and advisory firm focused on pharmaceutical economics, PBMs, and the drug supply chain. Highly comparable to 3 Axis Advisors in subject matter and audience (payers, manufacturers, pharmacies), with a similar blend of published research and paid advisory engagements.
• The Moran Company: Boutique healthcare consulting firm with a strong PBM, drug pricing, and Medicaid policy practice. Direct competitor for engagements from state Medicaid programs, plan sponsors, and pharmacy associations on drug spending analytics.
• Patient Rights Advocate: Non-profit organization focused on healthcare price transparency, including the Hospital Price Transparency Rule. 3 Axis has partnered with Patient Rights Advocate on the hospitaldrugprices.org dashboard and the 1,300+ hospital chargemaster analysis, making them a close operational peer in hospital pricing transparency advocacy.
• 46brooklyn Research: Ohio non-profit powered by 3 Axis Advisors team members, focused on accessibility and usability of U.S. drug pricing data. Closely intertwined with 3 Axis in mission, methodology, and personnel; effectively an extension of the firm's research footprint in the public-interest space.
• Visante: Specialty consulting firm focused on pharmacy benefit management, drug pricing, and pharmaceutical supply chain strategy. Comparable in target clients (health plans, PBMs, hospitals, manufacturers) and service offering (PBM analytics, RFP support, audits), but with a broader consulting scope.
• Frier Levitt: Healthcare law firm with deep PBM and pharmacy practice; partnered with 3 Axis and Community Oncology Alliance on PBM-practice deep-dive research. Comparable as a specialty advisor to pharmacies, plans, and oncology providers facing PBM-related disputes.

Others

• KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation): Independent healthcare policy research organization publishing widely cited analyses on drug pricing, Medicaid, and PBMs. Comparable audience (policymakers, media, plan sponsors) and similar research-driven model, though KFF is a much larger philanthropic institution with broader healthcare scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3-axis-advisors
• Xx.com/3AxisAdvisors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3 Axis Advisors