????早在2009年，無論走到哪里，31歲的喬丹?艾森伯格的錢包里總會裝著一片苯那君（Benadryl）。這段經歷讓他逐漸明白，自己應該找一種更好的方式，在發生過敏反應時保證自己的安全。艾森伯格對胡蘿卜、花生和其他許多種新鮮水果與蔬菜嚴重過敏。“把藥放在錢包里一點兒不衛生，而且藥會掉出來，然后分解，”艾森伯格說。他在科羅拉多州丹佛市創辦了UrgentRx，目前擔任公司首席執行官。他父親和朋友也會在錢包里攜帶阿司匹林，防范心臟病發作。

????他的解決辦法是什么？帶有味道的粉末，裝在信用卡大小的防水包裝袋里。這些粉末的味道類似于Pixy Stix糖果棒。要生產出阿司匹林、碳酸鈣（用于胃部不適）等普通成藥的水果味粉末“并不容易”，艾森伯格道。“我們的藥品不是糖果。很難通過微膠囊技術掩蓋藥品的味道。”

????自今年一月成立以來，UrgentRx公司的粉末已經在美國3,000多家店鋪銷售。公司的目標是擴展到25,000家藥店，包括CVS等大型連鎖藥店。每一包粉末的建議零售價為1.39美元。

????艾森伯格擁有范德堡大學（Vanderbilt University）的工程學與數學雙學位，最初是一位投資銀行家，后來開始為著名發明家、專利持有人莫里斯?堪巴工作。堪巴曾發明過藍天伏特加（Skyy Vodka）和其他知名產品。艾森伯格說：“我一直以為自己想成為一名風險投資人。后來我意識到，創業精神才是一種稀缺貨，這才是我應該追求的東西。”

????他在融資過程中通過熟人介紹認識了洛杉磯企業家及投資家蘭德爾?卡普蘭。卡普蘭是阿卡邁技術公司（Akamai Technologies）的聯合創始人。

????UrgentRx公司目前已經融資500萬美元。兩年前，公司向連鎖藥店和其他銷售藥品的零售商進行了有限的推廣。艾森伯格說：“我們設計了包裝，還做了其他改動。我們收到的反饋極為重要。”目前公司有八名員工，剛剛聘請了兩位副總裁，分別負責銷售和市場營銷。

????公司自稱粉末狀阿司匹林藥效比片劑的藥效更快，并因此拯救了至少十個人的生命。這些患者當時突發心臟病，服下UrgentRx粉末之后得救。這也是艾森伯格的宣傳噱頭。他表示，公司產品的另外一個優勢在于，無法吞下或難以吞下藥片的人群占總人口的6%，而UrgentRx的粉末藥就是他們的福音。

????卡普蘭在UrgentRx進行了投資，還成為了公司的董事長。目前，他正在幫助公司進行另外一筆250萬美元的融資。這筆資金一部分將被用于向更多零售商推廣公司的產品。新投資者包括芝加哥金融家山姆?澤爾、演員希拉里?斯萬克和購物中心大亨赫伯?西蒙。

????UrgentRx正在學習醫學用品和咖啡因產品的創新交付系統，例如維他命水（Vitamin Water）和5小時能量飲料（5-Hour Energy Drink）等。投資者們希望這種小藥包能夠像上世紀40年代的Alka Seltzer消食片一樣，成為家庭藥箱中的必需品。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Jordan Eisenberg, 31, was carrying a Benadryl around in his wallet back in 2009 when it dawned on him that he should find a better way to ensure his own safety in case of an allergy attack. He's violently allergic to carrots, peanuts and many other fresh fruits and vegetables. "It's unsanitary, the pills fall out and they disintegrate," says Eisenberg, the chief executive officer of UrgentRx, his Denver, Colorado-based startup. His father and friends also carried aspirin in their wallets in the event of a heart attack.

????His solution? Flavored powder in a credit card-sized, moisture-proof envelope. The powder comes close to emulating the taste of candy products like Pixy Stix. Creating a fruit-flavored powder that could deliver common over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, calcium carbonate (for upset stomach) and diphenyldramine HCl (for allergy attacks) "wasn't easy," Eisenberg said. "Our drugs aren't candy, it's really hard to mask the taste of medicine through micro-encapsulation."

????Following its launch in January, UrgentRx powders have been sold in 3,000 stores nationwide. The goal is to get them into 25,000 stores, including such major chains as CVS (CVS). Each packet sells for a suggested retail price of $1.39.

????Eisenberg, a double major in engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University, originally worked as an investment banker before taking a job with the noted inventor and patent-holder, Maurice Kanbar. Kanbar created Skyy Vodka and other well-known products. "I always thought I wanted to be a venture capitalist," says Eisenberg. "I came to understand that entrepreneurship is a rare commodity, it's what I was meant to do."

????In the process of trying to raise investment capital, a mutual acquaintance introduced him to Randall Kaplan, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and investor who was a co-founder of Akamai Technologies (AKAM).

????UrgentRx, with $5 million in funding, two years ago had a limited rollout to pharmacy chains and other retailers that sell remedies. "We made packaging and other changes," Eisenberg said. "The feedback was incredibly important." The company, which has eight employees, has just hired two vice presidents, one for sales and one for marketing.

????Eisenberg's hook is the claim that the company's powdered aspirin, which it says acts faster than pills, has saved at least ten lives of people who swallowed UrgentRx when they were having a heart attack. Another plus, he says, is that the product is ideal for the estimated 6% of the population that is unable or has difficulty swallowing pills.

????After investing in UrgentRx and becoming the company's chairman, Kaplan is helping to raise another $2.5 million, which will be used in part to finance the marketing of the powders to more retailers. New investors include Sam Zell, the Chicago financier, actress Hillary Swank and Herb Simon, the shopping mall magnate.

????UrgentRx follows on the heels of innovative delivery systems for medicinal products and caffeine, such as Vitamin Water and 5-Hour Energy Drink. The investors are hoping the packets will become a staple of home medicine cabinets—much like Alka Seltzer in the 1940s.