Amazon launches online pharmacy to deliver prescribed medications

An online pharmacy is launched by Amazon.com Inc to deliver prescription medications in the United States. This will increase the competition with drug retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart.

According to the report, named Amazon Pharmacy, the new store lets customers price-compare as they buy drugs on the company’s website or app. Shoppers can toggle at checkout between their co-pay and a non-insurance option, heavily discounted for members of its loyalty club Prime.

The move builds on the web retailer’s 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which Amazon stated will remain separate for customers needing pre-sorted doses of multiple drugs.

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Over the last two years, Amazon has worked to secure more state licenses for shipping prescriptions across Pakistan, which had been an obstacle to its expansion into the drug supply chain, according to analyst notes from Jefferies Equity Research.

The company founded as an online bookseller has disrupted industries including retail, computing, and now potentially pharmaceuticals, drawing criticism of its size and power from labor groups and lawmakers along the way.

TJ Parker, PillPack’s CEO and vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, in a statement, stated that the retailer wishes to bring “customer obsession to an industry that can be inconvenient and confusing.”