Rusk named CEO of new pharmacy logistics platform

NEW YORK — Former Publix Super Markets vice president of pharmacy, Dain Rusk, has taken the reins at Fillex, a new national pharmacy logistics platform.

With Rusk as CEO, Fillex has been launched with an initial investment from Morrison, a global infrastructure investment firm managing more than $30 billion in assets. Fillex will provide centralized, automated pharmacy fulfillment services to retail pharmacies, grocery chains, e-commerce providers, and health systems.

The investment will be funded through Morrison Value Add II SCSp (MVA II), Morrison’s global middle-market infrastructure vehicle, which focuses on significant capital appreciation by investing behind major global growth opportunities.

Morrison operating partner Marvin Richardson, former CEO of iA, will be joining Fillex’s board of directors as chair.

 “Our mission at Fillex is to transform prescription fulfillment to ensure essential community care is available on every corner by reducing the operational and capital burden on pharmacy providers,” said Rusk. “This enables them to run more efficiently while reclaiming essential time for patient care and improving clinical outcomes.”

 “Fillex provides the missing infrastructure layer for modern pharmacy — an open-access platform that allows operators to scale, protect margins, and remain focused on patient care,” added Richardson.

The pharmacy industry currently faces a "triple threat" of rising operational costs, shrinking reimbursement margins, and acute labor shortages. By outsourcing the capital-intensive fulfillment process to Fillex, providers can redirect their staff toward high-value clinical services and patient consultation. Backed by Morrison’s significant operational resources and strong track record of scaling platform investments, Fillex is uniquely positioned to meet the industry demand for centralized pharmacy fulfillment.

“Since 1988, Morrison has been building infrastructure businesses that meet evolving societal needs both in the U.S. and globally," said William Smales, the company's Chief Investment Officer. "While AI-powered automation has the potential to revolutionize pharmacy fulfillment, these next-generation capabilities have remained out of reach for most because they lack the capital, operating scale, and technical capability required to build and manage such complex infrastructure.

 “The launch of Fillex bridges this critical gap by leveraging Morrison’s deep in-house expertise and our long-standing track record of investing in essential infrastructure. We are excited by the business’s strong fundamentals and, under Dain’s vision and leadership, we look forward to building Fillex into a platform that enables better, more accessible care for society.”

Perry Offutt, Morrison’s New York-based co-head of MVA II, added, “We are very excited to bring this powerful ‘idea that matters’ to market for the benefit of pharmacies, customers, and our investors. This investment by MVA II underscores the need for infrastructure capital to provide high-quality logistics and fulfillment facilities, drive new efficiency gains, and expand the capacity and resiliency of the entire health care system.”

 At Publix, Rusk led the pharmacy business unit, including operations, central fill, administration, and specialty pharmacy. Before joining Publix, he served as Group Vice President of Pharmacy Operations at Albertsons Cos., overseeing all pharmacy operations.

Richardson became CEO of iA in March 2020 when an investor consortium led by Greg Wasson, former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO and including Richardson, acquired a majority stake in the company. He retired in November 2023.

Richardson is a more than 45-year veteran of pharmacy and healthcare, and an established entrepreneur, having co-founded Capstone Consulting LLC, a pharmacy automation consulting company, in 2015. Prior companies founded and co-owned by Richardson include Low-Cost Health Care, PrairieStone Pharmacies, and DailyMed, a compliance packaging company. He has also worked as a corporate leader with Rite Aid and Walgreens, where he began his career.