Political foes Trump and Cuban collaborate on drug prices
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President Trump and Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban don't usually agree on national politics but they have found a common adversary: medication prices.
Why it matters: Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and Trump's government-run TrumpRx initiative are working together to lower drug prices for Americans.
The intrigue: Cuban and Trump have been on opposite sides of the political aisle for years.
- Cuban campaigned for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and once called Trump a "snake oil salesperson."
- Trump has previously called Cuban a "loser" with "low clubhead speed, a total non-athlete."
How it works: The TrumpRx website, slated to launch early next year, will allow customers to buy certain medications offered by big drug companies at lower costs, the president says.
- The site will not sell or distribute medications directly. Customers will be able to search the site before being redirected to a direct-to-consumer channel from the manufacturer to make their purchases.
State of play: Cost Plus Drugs, Pfizer and AstraZeneca have agreed to join the project.
- Pfizer plans to offer nearly all drugs to Medicaid at Trump's "most favored nation" pricing and has agreed to offer U.S. customers comparable pricing to other wealthy countries.
- The president also wants to lower the cost of IVF drugs.
Yes, but: Trump's tariffs could complicate his plans.
Zoom out: Cuban's online pharmacy's drug pricing lists have helped health officials negotiate lower contracts with other pharmaceutical companies, Don Moulds of the California Public Employees Retirement System testified at a congressional hearing last week.
- "Mr. Cuban's work in this space has actually been enormously helpful to us," Moulds said.
Reality check: Most insured patients probably pay less through their plans than they would at cash prices on TrumpRx, per the Wall Street Journal.
What they're saying: Cuban is a fan of TrumpRx and says he's working with the Trump administration to integrate his cash price pharmacy with the president's website.
- "It's incredible. It's stupendous. It's like the most incredible program ever," Cuban said during last week's congressional hearing.
- He told MSNBC he would like to see even lower costs in the future.