Amazon's PillPack buy has immediate side effects for pharmacy chains

29 June 2018

Stock market reaction provided further evidence of the tech giant Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) potential to disrupt US healthcare on Thursday, after its acquisition of the online pharmacy group PillPack.

While Amazon shares shot up nearly 2.5%, the USA’s leading established pharmacy chains lost value, with Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) closing almost 10% lower and the drugstore operator CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) down 6%.

The world had been waiting for Amazon’s next step after its move into the healthcare space earlier this year. Together with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, the company announced a scheme to reduce healthcare costs for employees in the USA, and Atul Gawande has been appointed chief executive of the joint venture.

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