Amazon brings shipping muscle to Lilly drug delivery
Pharmaceutical maker Lilly added Amazon Pharmacy as the second online pharmacy option in its LillyDirect service, allowing patients to receive free delivery of certain diabetes, obesity and migraine medications.
Amazon—which continues rolling hard into healthcare—will be able to leverage its considerable logistics and technical capabilities, as touted by Amazon Pharmacy’s Chief Medical Officer, Vin Gupta, MD.
“For many patients who start using insulin, or injectable medications for migraine or obesity, this will be the first time they administer an injection. Amazon pharmacists can support medication management by providing guidance on administration techniques, drug interactions, side effects, and cost considerations,” Gupta says in prepared remarks.
Orders filled via LillyDirect will either be filled by Amazon or Lilly’s earlier online partner, Truepill, depending on individual situations. In an interview with CNBC, Amazon Pharmacy VP John Love said they’ll be pushing for ever-faster delivery times.
“We actually don’t think [two days is] a high enough bar. We’re still getting started,” Love told CNBC. “But this is what I think makes us an attractive partner and collaborator for all sorts of folks like Lilly, payers, providers who are looking for a different type of pharmacy.”
A full list of Lilly medicines currently available via LillyDirect can be found at lillydirect.lilly.com/medicines.
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.