With Ride-Hailing in Trouble, Uber Makes Move to Deliver Prescriptions

August 27

Uber Technologies Inc. is expanding its health care business to include last-mile prescription delivery through a partnership with NimbleRx, a California health care startup. The new joint service will start with pilot programs in the Dallas and Seattle areas, “with plans to grow in the coming months,” according to a blog post by Dan Trigub, the head of Uber Health.

An Uber Health spokesperson tells AIS Health that the COVID-19 pandemic is a driving motivator for the partnership. The pandemic has wrought havoc on Uber’s core ride-hailing business: according to the firm’s second quarter earnings report, overall revenue during that period fell 29% year over year. The move into prescription delivery seems to indicate a company-wide pivot to delivery and last-mile logistics. During the second quarter, Uber Eats, the company’s food delivery service, brought in more revenue than ride-hailing for the first time in company history.

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Radar on Drug Benefits

Peter Johnson

Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.