In Major Shake-Up For Drug Industry, Amazon Launches Online Pharmacy

CNBC: Amazon Pharmacy: Free Prescription Delivery For Prime Members
Amazon Pharmacy, announced on Tuesday, is Amazon’s biggest push yet into $300 billion market, and threatens the dominance of traditional pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, as well as other large retailers that offer pharmacy services, including Walmart. For Amazon, the announcement is well-timed. Americans are increasingly relying on getting their medicines via mail to avoid getting exposed to the coronavirus. That shift could be permanent, as more people than ever before are learning about new ways of receiving medication. (Farr, 11/17)

AP: Amazon Opens Online Pharmacy, Shaking Up Another Industry
Amazon will begin offering commonly prescribed medications Tuesday in the U.S., including creams, pills, as well as medications that need to stay refrigerated, like insulin. Shoppers have to set up a profile on Amazon’s website and have their doctors send prescriptions there. The company said it won’t ship medications that can be abused, including many opioids. Most insurance is accepted, Amazon said. But Prime members who don’t have insurance can also buy generic or brand name drugs from Amazon for a discount. They can also get discounts at 50,000 physical pharmacies around the country, inside Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and other stores. (Pisani, 11/17)

Bloomberg: Amazon Expands Push Into Health Care With Online Pharmacy
Amazon’s new offering comes more than two years after its $753 million acquisition of PillPack, an online pharmacy known for organizing prescriptions into packets. This expansion puts the Seattle-based e-commerce company into more direct competition with pharmacy giants CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., the two largest chains in the U.S. (LaVito and Day, 11/17)

Vox: Amazon Is Now Selling Prescription Drugs And Prime Members Get Two-Day Delivery
When Amazon spent $750 million to acquire the online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, it was clear the tech giant had interest in the prescription drug market. Now we know how serious it was. Amazon will start selling prescription medications on its main Amazon website and app on Tuesday, and will offer two-day delivery of these medications to Prime members for no extra fee. Prime members without prescription drug coverage, or with coverage that isn’t great, can also save up to 80% on generic and 40% on brand name drugs when paying out of pocket without insurance. Prices with, and without insurance, can be compared at checkout. (Del Rey, 11/17)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

AP: US Appeals Court Weighs Law On Supervised Injection Sites
A federal appeals court became the latest panel to wrestle with the nation’s opioid epidemic as judges reviewed a long-debated plan Monday to open a medically supervised injection site in Philadelphia. U.S. Attorney William McSwain, an appointee of President Donald Trump, opposes the idea and hopes to overturn the approval of a federal judge who heard the case last year. (Dale, 11/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Berkshire Hathaway Invests In Drugmakers Seeking Covid-19 Vaccine 
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is betting on some of the largest firms chasing a Covid-19 vaccine. The Omaha, Neb., conglomerate recently made new investments in large pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co., Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and AbbVie Inc., investing between $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion in each, according to public filings. Berkshire also made a new, smaller investment in Pfizer Inc. of $136 million. (Telesca and Eisen, 11/16)

KHN: Patients Struggle To Find Prescription Opioids After NY Tax Drives Out Suppliers
Mike Angevine lives in constant pain. For a decade the 37-year-old has relied on opioids to manage his chronic pancreatitis, a disease with no known cure. But in January, Angevine’s pharmacy on Long Island ran out of oxymorphone and he couldn’t find it at other drugstores. He fell into withdrawal and had to be hospitalized. (Gliadkovskaya, 11/17)