FDB and Photon Unite to Tackle Prescription Costs and Complexity

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and BROOKLYN, N.Y. – February 27, 2026 – In a significant move to reshape the nation's prescription landscape, drug knowledge leader FDB (First Databank) and health-tech innovator Photon Health have announced a major collaboration. The partnership will integrate FDB's Vela ePrescribing Network with Photon's patient-facing digital marketplace, promising to bring long-overdue price transparency and choice to millions of American patients who have long felt powerless in the face of soaring and unpredictable drug costs.

The agreement connects FDB Vela's robust, cloud-based infrastructure for transmitting prescriptions with Photon's innovative platform that allows patients to shop for their medications. This fusion aims to dismantle the all-too-common experience of “sticker shock” at the pharmacy counter by empowering patients with information and control before a prescription is even sent.

From Blind Faith to Informed Choice

For decades, the ePrescribing process has been largely opaque to the most important stakeholder: the patient. Typically, a doctor sends a prescription to a pharmacy, often one defaulted in the electronic health record (EHR) system, leaving the patient to discover the price and availability only upon arrival. This can lead to frustrating delays, abandoned prescriptions due to unexpected costs, and a frantic series of phone calls between the patient, pharmacy, and doctor's office to find a more affordable or available alternative.

This new collaboration fundamentally redesigns that outdated workflow. Under the integrated system, when a provider writes a prescription, Photon Health's platform can intercept the process to engage the patient directly. The patient receives a secure text message with a link to a digital marketplace where they can compare pharmacy options based on real-time out-of-pocket pricing, hours of operation, distance, and even current stock levels. Only after the patient makes an informed choice is the prescription routed via the secure FDB Vela network to their selected pharmacy.

Photon Health, which has already successfully routed over one million prescriptions and handles more than 70,000 monthly, has proven the appeal of this model. By “consumerizing” the prescription journey, the company has demonstrated that patients, when given the tools, will actively seek better value and convenience.

“Electronic prescribing infrastructure should facilitate transparency and innovation across the healthcare ecosystem,” said David Delaney, MD, president of FDB, in the announcement. “[This collaboration] gives patients greater visibility into their prescriptions and out-of-pocket costs.”

A Strategic Alliance to Challenge the Status Quo

The ePrescribing market, projected to grow exponentially from over $5 billion in 2024 to nearly $55 billion by 2034, has historically been dominated by a few key players, with Surescripts holding a commanding market share. The FDB Vela and Photon Health partnership represents a strategic and technologically distinct challenge to this established order.

While price transparency apps like GoodRx and SingleCare have gained popularity, they typically operate outside the primary prescribing workflow, requiring patients to proactively search for coupons or discounts after a prescription has already been sent. The FDB-Photon model embeds this choice directly into the initial prescribing event, preventing the need for later rework and reducing friction for both patients and clinical staff.

By combining FDB Vela’s backend network infrastructure with Photon’s patient-facing front end, the two companies are creating a full-stack solution. This alliance is not just about showing patients a price list; it's about building a smarter, more efficient, and open network from the ground up.

“Prescription networks should exist to serve patients and providers openly,” commented Otto Sipe, CEO and co-founder of Photon. “Our collaboration with FDB Vela reflects a shared commitment to modernizing ePrescribing infrastructure, expanding network choice, and delivering greater transparency across the prescription experience.”

This strategic positioning has attracted significant investor confidence, with Photon Health raising $16.4 million in funding, including a recent $9 million round in August 2024. The company has also forged key integrations with major EHR providers like athenahealth, signaling a clear strategy to embed its tools directly into existing clinical workflows.

Building a Modern, Resilient Network

At the core of the collaboration is FDB Vela's modern technical architecture. Launched in 2022, FDB Vela is a cloud-native, HITRUST-certified network. For the healthcare industry, this is not just technical jargon; it signifies a commitment to the highest levels of security, scalability, and reliability. Unlike some legacy systems that can be prone to outages or security vulnerabilities, FDB Vela's cloud-based design ensures 24/7 availability and full redundancy, safeguarding the critical transmission of prescription data.

This robust infrastructure does more than just route prescriptions. FDB Vela is also building a suite of provider solutions that includes real-time clinical decision support, workflow automation, and specialized routing for complex medications. By integrating with this network, Photon's platform benefits from a secure and powerful engine, allowing it to focus on perfecting the user experience for patients and providers.

For clinical teams, the benefits extend beyond patient satisfaction. Photon’s platform is designed to reduce the significant administrative burden associated with prescription management. By resolving issues like out-of-stock medications or insurance problems through its platform, Photon can save clinical staff hours of phone calls and follow-ups each week, freeing them to focus on patient care.

Navigating the Hurdles of a Fragmented System

Despite the clear benefits, the path to widespread adoption is not without challenges. The U.S. healthcare system is notoriously fragmented, with a complex web of legacy systems, varying data standards, and entrenched workflows that can create resistance to change. Interoperability remains a persistent hurdle, and ensuring seamless data flow between different EHRs, pharmacies, and payers is a monumental task.

However, the FDB-Photon partnership appears well-equipped to navigate this landscape. FDB's long-standing reputation and deep integration within the healthcare ecosystem provide a foundation of trust and connectivity. Photon’s recent integration with athenahealth's marketplace demonstrates a practical strategy for embedding itself into provider workflows with minimal disruption. Furthermore, FDB Vela's HITRUST certification directly addresses the critical data security and privacy concerns that are paramount in healthcare.

By presenting a clear value proposition—happier patients, lower costs, and reduced administrative work—the alliance aims to overcome potential resistance from providers. Ultimately, the success of this collaboration will hinge on its ability to prove that a more transparent and patient-centric system is also a more efficient and effective one for everyone involved. The partnership represents a bold step toward an ecosystem where prescription fulfillment is no longer a source of anxiety and confusion, but a simple, transparent, and empowering part of the patient's healthcare journey.