Save money on the drugs you need with My Coupon Doc

My Coupon Doc, a Chicago-based startup, gives you access to coupons that can save you hundreds of dollars in prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The company launched its website today at the DEMO Spring 2012 conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

The site couldn’t be simpler to use: You type in the name of a condition or a drug, press the red “Start Saving” button, and the site displays a list of relevant coupons. For example, we typed in “allergies” and found coupons for $2 off Dimetapp, $20 off Singulair, $3 off Claritin, $1 off Tylenol, and so forth. Drugs are accompanied by simple, plain-English descriptions of what they are for, whether they’re over-the-counter or require a prescription, and what the savings amount is. To redeem a coupon, you just click on the “Redeem” button and the site redirects you to the source of the coupon, where you fill out any needed information to get the discount.

One VentureBeat staffer saved $180 in 60 seconds by finding discounts on regular medications.

The company has partnerships with 500 pharmacies that will go into effect in June, so consumers can push their discount coupons electronically to their local pharmacy, and it is also working with doctors’ offices to integrate with their systems.

“I think My Coupon Doc has the highest probability of success of what I saw,” said Shervin Peshavar, a managing director at Menlo Ventures, on a panel discussion after the set of presentations in which My Coupon Doc appeared. “It was very simple to explain, and I can see it reaching a large number of users.”

Greylock partner James Slavet was less optimistic, saying, “I don’t think it has as much upside as other things we saw, but I think it has a business model.”

My Coupon Doc is one of 80 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Spring 2012 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After we make our selections, the chosen companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.