#Uber launches prescription delivery service in Seattle, Dallas

Uber has started delivering prescriptions to help people avoid trips to the pharmacy during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ride-hailing giant launched the new service in Seattle and Dallas under its Uber Health banner, the company announced Thursday. It’s a partnership with NimbleRX, a startup that works with pharmacies and couriers to bring prescriptions to users’ homes.

Uber plans to expand the service in “the coming months” now that it has integrated with Nimble, which said it has seen a spike in demand from pharmacies and consumers alike over the last several months.

“Through this partnership with Uber Health, we are able to dramatically increase the availability of on-demand delivery of an essential product like prescriptions, which is leading to a further increase in demand in all markets we are already active in,” Nimble founder and CEO Talha Sattar said in a statement.

Uber is the latest entrant into the growing prescription delivery market. Pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens launched similar services in recent years and waived delivery fees during the COVID-19 crisis. Other players include Capsule, a New York-based digital pharmacy startup, and PillPack, which Amazon acquired in 2018.

San Francisco-based Uber has expanded its delivery options as the pandemic tanked demand for its core ride-hailing service. The company rolled out its Uber Direct and Uber Connect services in April to deliver packages and retail products after adding grocery and convenience-store deliveries to its Uber Eats takeout platform. It also announced plans last month to acquire rival food-delivery service Postmates for $2.6 billion.

Uber shares were down about 1.4 percent at $28.99 as of 9:30 a.m. Thursday.