RastaMentality
Banned
- Each year, Amazon holds an annual meeting to discuss whether it should break into the pharmacy market, said a source familiar.
- This year, it is getting more serious and is looking to hire a general manager.
- Industry experts say this could be a multibillion market opportunity for the e-commerce company.
Amazon is hiring a business lead to figure out how the company can break into the multibillion-dollar pharmacy market.
For the last few years, Amazon has held at least one annual meeting at its Seattle, WA headquarters to discuss whether it should enter the pharmacy business, says two people familiar with the company's plans.
But this year, with the rise of high-deductible plans and the trend towards consumers paying for health care, it is ready to get more serious.
Two people said that it's not a done deal that Amazon will move into this space, given the complex web of established players. But it is bringing on a new general manager to lead the team and formulate a strategy, and is deep in discussions with industry experts. That hire would sit under the consumables business, the source said.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/16/amazon-selling-drugs-pharamaceuticals.htmlIn the United States alone, more than 4 billion prescriptions are ordered every year. In 2015, patients, insurance companies and other payers spent an estimated $300 billion on prescription drugs.
For Amazon, it's a lucrative market that would require navigating a variety of existing players. For consumers with a high dollar deductible, Amazon could someday be a go-to destination to shop for drugs.
"I think Amazon would introduce a lot of transparency to what drugs really cost," said Stephen Buck, a health entrepreneur and co-founder of GoodRx, a service that promises to save consumers on the price of prescription meds. Buck sees a slew of potential opportunities for Amazon, including a product that competes with pharmacy benefits management or PBM giants, like Express Scripts and CVS Health.
Buck estimates that it's a $25 to $50 billion market opportunity for Amazon, if executed well. But the company would also face challenges entering a regulated market it. "Prescription transfer laws and e-prescribing make a little bit more difficult than putting something in a cart and checking out," he said.
If Amazon did AmazonBasics generic drugs, it'd split the entire industry open. absolutely insane revenue.