Last week, I sat down with Mark Cuban at the Smart Kitchen Summit to talk about how he sees AI changing innovation and medicine, his motivation for starting Cost Plus Drugs, and why he decided to step away from Shark Tank after this upcoming season.’
Below are five takeaways from my interview with Cuban.
Cuban’s Frustration With the Healthcare System Led Him to Start CostPlusDrugs.com
Cuban’s motivation for starting Cost Plus Drugs was rooted in frustration with a complex and often predatory prescription drug system. “First off, at Cost Plus Drugs, we sell more than just generics,” he said. “We do have brands. We just don’t have all of them yet.”
But Cuban made it clear that the economics of generics where the company has made the most significant impact. “We’ve cut prices down for chemotherapy drugs like Imatinib from $2,000 or more to $21 to $40,” Cuban said. “And so those guys, those big guys, they don’t like us.”
By “those guys,” he means pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who are powerful intermediaries he says are actively limiting access to drugs. “PBMS basically control the entire pharmaceutical industry. And they see us as competition.” Cuban said the company’s pricing model is completely transparent: “We only mark it up 15%. If you prefer mail order, the cost is $5 for the pharmacist and $5 for shipping. Or we have local pharmacies, and you can do a pickup there.”
Cuban says his target customer is anyone stuck in the cracks of the healthcare system. “If you have a high deductible plan, you don’t have insurance, there’s a good chance that we carry your medication, and there’s an even better chance that you can pay cash through us and it’ll be cheaper than your deductible and out of pocket.”
Cuban Sees GLP-1 Pricing Becoming More Accessible
I asked Cuban about where he sees pricing going for GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. He recognizes the importance (and consumer demand) and feels they will become more accessible – including via his site – over time.
“As it applies to GLP-1 drugs, there’s a drug that costs, that we carry that costs $50. It’s a brand drug. And it costs $50 a month instead of $400 or $1,300 a month,” he said. “I think those will come down in price because of the competition, and I think you’ll see new forms of GLP-1s and pills come out as well, which will also put the pricing down. And we’ll carry everything we can.”
He Sees AI as an Increasingly Important Healthcare Tool
Throughout our conversation, Cuban repeatedly came back to the disruptive potential of AI, suggesting it’s the biggest potential harbinger of change in tech and more broadly than anything in his career. This includes in healthcare.
Cuban belief in AI’s potential in health support tool isn’t theoretical – he already uses it himself.
“I do it all the time, right?” he said. “I have to take this thing called Synthroid for hypothyroidism, and I also need more iron after I got my blood tested. I had no idea that taking them both at the same time didn’t work. My doctor didn’t even realize that.” Cuban said he turned to ChatGPT, asking if he could take them both at the same time? “It said, ‘hell no, do not take them at the same time’. It said you have to have three hours between them. And so now my TSH went down to right where it’d be perfect numbers. And my iron levels are going up as well.”
Cuban also said he’s still skeptical of ChatGPT’s responses, so he’ll check responses against a site designed for doctors called Open Evidence. “It’s my way of checking ChatGPT’s work.”
Shark Tank Will Remain The World’s “Best Commercial” Even After Cuban Leaves
After 15 seasons and hundreds of deals, Cuban announced he’s stepping away from Shark Tank. It wasn’t because he’s starting a new business or running for president. He just wanted to spend more time with his family.
“I did it just because of family time,” he said. “Because right about now, I might be shooting Shark Tank, right? And this is the time to spend with my family.”
Cuban still believes in the show’s power to help entrepreneurs: “On Shark Tank, you can have somebody from Idaho, from New York, from wherever, somebody who’s 18 years old, somebody who’s 80 years old, standing on that carpet, telling millions of people about their product.”
It’s the “world’s greatest commercial,” said Cuban.
The Importance of Becoming AI Literate
For Cuban, becoming AI literate is essential. “Learn everything you can about AI because it changes everything,” he said. He said that regardless of whether it’s starting a business, working a trade, or building a career in any field, understanding how to use AI will be required. “There’s going to be two types of companies,” he said, “those who are great at AI and everybody else.”
“There is no job that won’t be touched by artificial intelligence,” he said. “Whether it’s an optimization, in some cases replacement, some cases creating new jobs because you know how to use AI—it goes in all directions.”
Cuban may have stepped away from Shark Tank and sold the controlling interest in the Mavericks, but he definitely hasn’t slowed down. After 30 years in tech, helping to build the world of streaming and becoming one of the world’s most famous tech entrepreneurs, he’s excited about learning and adapting to the future.
You can watch our full interview below, on YouTube, or listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
