Cowen Calls Amazon's Prime Pharmacy Offering 'Huge Opportunity'

Amazon’s pharmacy programs are a “large opportunity for adoption” among the e-commerce giant’s 70 million U.S. Prime households, Cowen analyst John Blackledge wrote investors Tuesday. Amazon announced two pharmacy offerings Tuesday: Amazon Pharmacy, a store on Amazon where customers can complete an entire pharmacy transaction on a PC or mobile device via the Amazon app, and a Prime prescription discount benefit that offers members up to 80% off generic and 40% off brand name medications when paying without insurance. The offerings complete a multiyear effort by Amazon after it bought PillPack in September 2018, said Blackledge, which gave Amazon license to deliver prescriptions in all 50 states. Customers can add insurance information and ask their prescriber to send new or existing prescriptions directly to Amazon Pharmacy for fulfillment. Prime membership includes free, two-day delivery on Amazon Pharmacy orders. A September Cowen survey showed 42% of respondents regularly take prescription medication for an ongoing condition. Of those, 69% pick up the medication at a pharmacy, 29% receive it by mail and 13% pick up at a hospital pharmacy. Prime members were slightly less likely to use mail-order pharmacy services at 27% vs. 32% for non-Prime households.