Amazon Will Sell Drugs Online in the United States

Amazon has been entering many businesses. The e-commerce giant is present in a multitude of commercial areas, which has harmed traditional businesses. The company revolutionized internet shopping, changed distribution forever, and empowered industrial robots. Now, it tries to reach another area – the sale of pharmaceutical products.

The company has presented a new service called Pharmacy that will allow it to market drugs through its internet platform. In Europe, pharmaceuticals are the type of product that, for public health reasons, are reserved for distribution through official channels authorized by the respective regulators.

The entry into the pharmacy business in the United States, with a health system different than the European one, allows the purchase of prescription drugs through its platform. Allowing Prime subscribers to receive them at home for free. 

The project has caused a sharp drop in the shares of large pharmaceutical chains in the US. On the announcement day, Walgreens and Rite Aid chains suffered a stock market blow that reduced their participation by 10%.

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The platform requires a verified and secured user profile

Amazon’s new service consists of an online store. As with the purchase of other commercial products, users can purchase drugs directly through a secure user profile. Unlike the rest of the inventory, the platform requires a verified user. It requires the introduction of medical insurance.

In fact, the direct consequence is that patients will be able to receive their medicines at home in a short time without the need to go outside. TJ Parker, vice president of Amazon’s pharmaceutical division, said in a statement that the service they have designed was intended to put customers first. Currently, it operates in 45 federal states except for Illinois, Hawaii or Kentucky.

Besides, the service includes the advice of pharmaceutical experts with 24-hour access. It requires the entry of your personal data. Moreover, the company has insisted that it accepts most insurance plans issued in the US. When the user registers, the company will locate the medical coverage, or it can be added manually. However, customers can use the service even without insurance. That opens the door to millions of Americans who don’t have healthcare. 

To make matters worse, it will offer discounts of up to 80% on generics, which has raised enormous fear in the pharmaceutical sector. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many Americans have chosen to receive medicine by mail.