Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Pharmaceutical |
Founded | November 17, 2020 |
Area served | United States |
Services | Online pharmacy |
Parent | Amazon |
Website |
pharmacy |
Amazon Pharmacy is an American online pharmacy which is a subsidiary of Amazon. The business was launched on November 17, 2020, initially offering pharmacy service only in the United States.
On November 17, 2020, Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy. [1] The move was described as "arguably Amazon’s broadest push into the healthcare business to-date."
Amazon Pharmacy's business is based on sales. The company offers free, two-day home delivery of prescriptions to Amazon Prime subscribers. [2] Amazon Pharmacy requires customers to establish a secure pharmacy profile to manage insurance and medical information. [3] At the time of its formation, Amazon Pharmacy's operation was limited to the United States. [3] At the time of its launch, Amazon Pharmacy also announced its intention to offer a help line staffed by pharmacists and a discount program for uninsured customers. [4]
Challenges faced by Amazon Pharmacy include the need for customers to ask doctors to redirect prescriptions, customer habit in using nearby brick-and-mortar drug stores, and customer desire to speak in person with a pharmacist. [5]
The formation of Amazon Pharmacy was expected to result in disruption of the retail pharmacy sector. [6] On the day of its launch, stock prices for competitors dropped: GoodRx by 20%; Rite Aid by 16%; and Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy by 9% each. [4] In all, drugstores, drug distributors, and health insurers lost $22 billion in market value on the day of Amazon Pharmacy's launch. [7]
An analysis from Citi Research called the announcement "a disruption to the system and competitive threat that will likely shift scripts away from the retail channel." [6] An Edwards Jones analyst opined that Amazon Pharmacy was a particular threat to smaller drugstores that lack the purchasing power of major drugstore chains. [6]
Some employers, such as 7-Eleven, began only paying for prescriptions through Amazon Pharmacy following its launch through their health insurance plan.
The establishment of Amazon Pharmacy followed Amazon's acquisition of PillPack in June 2018 for a reported US$753 million. [8] In an interim step, Amazon rebranded PillPack in November 2019 as "PillPack, by Amazon Pharmacy". [9] With the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, the company announced that PillPack would continue to operate as a "distinct service for customers managing multiple daily medications for chronic conditions." [2]