Uber Partnership With ScriptDrop Heats Up Rx Delivery Space

by Jane Anderson

Uber, seeking to expand its prescription delivery business nationwide, has inked a deal with pharmacy home delivery start-up ScriptDrop that makes Uber the default delivery app for a network of grocery store and independent pharmacies that spans 37 states.

The partnership, which is just one of many corporate moves in the pharmacy delivery space, positions Uber to take advantage of the vastly increased consumer demand for home delivery services sparked by the pandemic.

It also puts PBMs in the position of playing some catch-up on developing and promoting home delivery services beyond traditional mail order, says Ashraf Shehata, partner and advisory industry leader for health plans at consulting firm KPMG.

The immediate question, he says, is "as we start to see these home delivery options, are we really starting to see the digital world competing against the bricks-and-mortar world, plus delivery? That's really the dynamic tension here. And I think that there are a lot more chapters to be written in that story."

But Uber is far from the only company investing in this space, and opportunities for partnerships and acquisitions are plentiful. Meanwhile, PBMs do not appear to be reacting much to the changes in prescription delivery and purchasing patterns, says David Dross, national practice leader for managed care pharmacy consulting at Mercer. "It feels like, at this juncture, PBMs are honestly not seeing enough threat to do something different," he says.

Competition from Amazon and its subsidiary PillPack hasn't turned out to be as big of a threat as some in the industry had feared, at least so far, Dross notes. Shehata also doesn't see Uber and Amazon as immediate threats to PBMs and mail-order pharmacy.

However, Peter Manoogian, principal at the consulting firm ZS Associates, notes that that there are multiple deals that touch on prescription delivery, and PBMs definitely are watching. "I think my clients — PBMs and mail order pharmacies — they are thinking about the threat that an Amazon could bring in the Rx delivery space, because the Amazon delivery model is so intertwined into so many people's lives," he says.

Many prescription benefit plans already offer same-day or next-day delivery for pharmaceuticals, Manoogian says. However, they haven't always promoted that capability well enough that members know to use it, he says: "PBMs do need to ensure they get out the right communication to members."

From RADAR on Drug Benefits