Today, Amazon announced that Prime members can receive a six-month supply of several widely prescribed drugs, starting at $6. Many drugs are pricier b

Amazon and Walmart try—again—to upend prescription drug prices

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2021-06-08 22:30:04

Today, Amazon announced that Prime members can receive a six-month supply of several widely prescribed drugs, starting at $6. Many drugs are pricier but are still discounted relative to typical cash prices. And yesterday, Walmart said it would be adding new discounts of up to 85 percent on prescription drugs purchased through its Walmart+ RX service, with an average savings of about 65 percent.

The new announcements come as the retail behemoths have largely failed to disrupt the traditional pharmacy industry. Big names still dominate, with CVS and Walgreens topping the rankings by revenue. Walmart, which has a significant physical footprint for its pharmacies, comes in fifth. 

Amazon has yet to make a dent, not even cracking the top 15, and the e-commerce retailer’s ambitions have been further stymied by the fact that retail pharmacy locations have thrived recently relative to mail pharmacies. Though the company made waves last year with its announcement of Amazon Pharmacy—some analysts predicted that CVS and Walgreens would be hit hardest by the reveal—the company has been in the prescription drug business for years following its 2018 purchase of PillPack for $753 million. Amazon’s lack of traction in the market is upsetting the narrative that the e-commerce company dismantles every legacy business model it encounters. 

That could be why a report last month from Business Insider said that Amazon was looking at opening traditional pharmacies inside its more than 350 Whole Foods locations. But nothing has come of the idea so far, as starting a physical pharmacy is expensive. Each new Whole Foods location would need about three pharmacists and five technicians, in addition to changes in store layouts. 

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