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Share prices of two of the world’s largest pharmacy and healthcare firms fell after the announcement that retail internet giant Amazon has bought into the prescription drug industry.
After Amazon said it was acquiring online US pharmacy PillPack on 28 June 2018, shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance fell by more than 9%. Shares at the American healthcare company McKesson Corporation, which owns US healthcare business Celesio, which in turn owns LloydsPharmacy in the UK, dropped by more than 7%.
PillPack is licensed to ship medicines to 49 US states. Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s chief executive officer of worldwide consumer, said PillPack was “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”.
TJ Parker, co-founder and chief executive officer of PillPack, said: “Together with Amazon, we are eager to continue working with partners across the healthcare industry to help people throughout the United States who can benefit from a better pharmacy experience.”
Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.
