San Mateo, CA — A San Francisco Bay Area start-up is partnering with California Health and Human Services to deliver the controversial “Morning After” abortion pill” via airborne drones. The San Mateo-based CloudMed has been delivering pain medications including and Vicodin and OxyContin over the past year to a service area of over 150 square miles as a part of a trial run.
“We are excited to emerge from this trial period,” said CloudMed spokesperson Bethany Millbright in an early morning conference call. “The FDA has provided the necessary oversight and now its approval for us to proceed with other medications. CloudMed should be the leader in drone-based medical deliveries within the year.”
According to a prospectus provided by CloudMed, over the past year, the company has delivered over 4200 prescriptions via drone to customers as far away as Sacramento. Critics of the service have expressed concern about client privacy as well as the possibility of theft.
“This is really a bad idea,” said consumer health advocate Gene Aldridge of the non-profit California Advocacy for Patients group or CAFP. “All it takes is a slingshot to bring these drones down. And not only will the perpetrator have your medications, but also other sensitive personal information like your address, name and other things you probably don’t want people to see.”
Ms. Millbright bristled at the implication that CloudMed puts clients at risk for loss and identity theft.
“In our 4237 deliveries last year,” continued Ms. Millbright, “only 4 delivery vehicles went missing during flight. However, all four were recovered and only one prescription was lost. So we feel confident that our patented security technology will prevent such incidents. And we’re constantly improving.”
If the morning after pill program is successful, the company plans on starting service in Texas, Mississippi, and New Jersey early next year.
