Penn Medicine announced a collaboration with Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs to cover frequently dispensed generic drug purchases.
Credit: Abhiram JuvvadiPenn Medicine has partnered with businessperson Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs to improve the efficiency of procuring generic prescription drugs for pharmacies.
According to Penn Medicine News, the collaboration will provide Penn Medicine with a selection of 100 of the most commonly dispensed medications while avoiding price markups. With the money saved from reduced drug costs, Penn Medicine intends to invest the funds in healthcare innovation.
Cuban and co-founder Alexander Oshmyansky launched Cost Plus Drugs in 2022 as a public benefit corporation with the hope of reducing the cost of drugs through transparent pricing. Cuban sees his collaboration with Penn Medicine as a step toward the future of the healthcare industry.
“This joint effort goes beyond cost savings—it’s about empowering healthcare providers like Penn Medicine to deliver superior care by removing financial barriers to essential medications,” Cuban told Penn Medicine News. “We are thrilled to support Penn Medicine in setting a new benchmark for healthcare excellence.”
Penn Medicine currently fills over 1.5 million prescriptions each year at 16 separate locations.
Cuban previously discussed the failures of the pharmaceutical industry at a fireside chat hosted by Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics on Nov. 25. He described the industry’s frequent price markups in front of hundreds of Penn students and staff, introducing Cost Plus Drugs as a solution.
The deal, which was announced less than two weeks after Cuban visited Penn, was made possible by the Cost Plus Marketplace. Created in 2023 with the help of GraphiteRx, a drug procurement and distribution company, the Cost Plus Marketplace partners with healthcare providers such as Penn Medicine to employ cost-effective strategies.
Kevin Mahoney, the chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, highlighted the potential of the partnership.
“As health systems face rising costs on many different fronts, we’re constantly looking for creative ways to be more cost-effective and simplify care delivery to meet the needs of our patients and care teams,” Mahoney told Penn Medicine News.
Nishaminy Kasbekar, Penn Medicine’s vice president and chief pharmacy officer, shared Mahoney’s excitement for improving the affordability of prescription drugs.
“I think health systems are really looking at ways and opportunities to do things differently and to kind of relieve some of those cost pressures,” Kasbekar told WHYY.
The partnership will enhance the connectivity between Penn Medicine’s several pharmacy locations, ensuring greater access to patient information. This integration allows pharmacists and physicians to collaborate more seamlessly, optimizing treatment plans and improving patient outcomes. While current patients will experience no changes to the prescription-filling process, they can benefit from increased protection against future drug shortages.
Cuban also serves as an advisor to Penn’s blockchain-specific accelerator program, a position he has maintained since spring 2022.
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