Amazon shakes up industry with deal to acquire online pharmacy
Amazon is making an acquisition that could disrupt the nation’s drug store industry.
The online giant announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire PillPack, an online pharmacy that offers pre-sorted doses of medications and home delivery. The news comes as Amazon has been steadily expanding into the health-care and pharmaceutical business.
Analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, described the deal as “a warning shot in what is about to become a major battle within the pharmacy space.”
“In our view, this is only the first play in what will be an increasingly aggressive strategy by Amazon to develop a much more significant presence in the pharmacy market,” said Saunders. “This is incredibly bad news for traditional players, like Walgreens and CVS, who stand to lose the most from Amazon's determination to grow its share.
“PillPack’s visionary team has a combination of deep pharmacy experience and a focus on technology,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer. “PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives, and we want to help them continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier.”
PillPack packages, organizes and delivers prescription drugs. It sends consumers packages with the specific number of medications they are supposed to take, marked for the specific times.
“PillPack makes it simple for any customer to take the right medication at the right time, and feel healthier,” said TJ Parker, co-founder and CEO of PillPack. “Together with Amazon, we are eager to continue working with partners across the healthcare industry to help people throughout the U.S. who can benefit from a better pharmacy experience.”
The companies expect to close the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, during the second half of 2018.
The online giant announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire PillPack, an online pharmacy that offers pre-sorted doses of medications and home delivery. The news comes as Amazon has been steadily expanding into the health-care and pharmaceutical business.
Analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, described the deal as “a warning shot in what is about to become a major battle within the pharmacy space.”
“In our view, this is only the first play in what will be an increasingly aggressive strategy by Amazon to develop a much more significant presence in the pharmacy market,” said Saunders. “This is incredibly bad news for traditional players, like Walgreens and CVS, who stand to lose the most from Amazon's determination to grow its share.
“PillPack’s visionary team has a combination of deep pharmacy experience and a focus on technology,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer. “PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives, and we want to help them continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier.”
PillPack packages, organizes and delivers prescription drugs. It sends consumers packages with the specific number of medications they are supposed to take, marked for the specific times.
“PillPack makes it simple for any customer to take the right medication at the right time, and feel healthier,” said TJ Parker, co-founder and CEO of PillPack. “Together with Amazon, we are eager to continue working with partners across the healthcare industry to help people throughout the U.S. who can benefit from a better pharmacy experience.”
The companies expect to close the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, during the second half of 2018.