Mark Cuban’s fight against drug prices: “How much fucking money do we need?”

When Mark Cuban If I’m not feeling well, he always lets me know. Billionaire businessman, basketball owner, and shark tank The showman lit up WIRED’s big interview event on Tuesday, where he talked about Elon Musk, the pharmaceutical industry, and why “couch-fucking” and Gary Gensler’s crypto policies cost Kamala Harris the election. He gave his passionate opinion on what he thinks.

In conversation with WIRED senior writer Lauren Good, Cuban touted the trajectory of Cost Plus Drugs, the pharmaceutical company he co-founded in 2022. By providing transparency about costs and pricing policies, Cuban says his company has been able to bring medicines to consumers and disrupt the pharmaceutical industry. Droxidopa costs about $20 per month, compared to an estimated $3,000 or more per month for uninsured patients.

“For 18 months, we’ve been lowering the price of (one of 2,500 drugs) every weekday,” Cuban boasts, adding that the company has also had great success publishing its entire price list. spoke. So do other drug providers for consumers and researchers.

Cuban said studies have now shown that the government could save billions of dollars if Medicare bought, for example, nine specific drugs from Cost Plus Drug instead of other sources. This is not just a sign of medical bloat. It’s not just about the system, it’s about the tangible impact that one well-funded company can have.

It’s not that Cuban isn’t making money on cost-plus drugs. he may be making morehe told Good, but as he said, “How much money do you need? It’s not like we’re trying to land on Mars.”

The rift, perhaps directed at Elon Musk, was just one of several remarks Cuban made about the billionaire X owner. As an example, he talked about his transition from X to Bluesky in recent months, saying he sees it as an overall “moment of survival” for Musk’s platform.

Thanks to Bluesky’s ability to thwart trolls and what Cuban calls a more involved policy, Bluesky has been able to make significant contributions to businesses such as Kamala Harris, cryptocurrencies, and the Dallas Mavericks, a basketball team in which he owns a minority stake. It’s now much easier to engage with people, he says. “If you want to know what Elon is thinking, Twitter is great,” Cuban joked, but added that he thinks Bluesky is more like a true “social network” by comparison.