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Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

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Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#101

Post by bduerst »

noname120 wrote: post #31
tombrossman wrote: post #18

This is interesting because Amazon isn't exactly known for supply chain integrity. Who here hasn't received fakes from Amazon? If you rely on a specific medication for your health, is Amazon a brand you trust to deliver it? How long until they start commingling pills and shipping random counterfeit/fake product to users? Hope it never happens but if they do with pharmaceuticals what they did with everything else they…

Does this really apply to products sold by Amazon?

Yeah, I've bought counterfeit Amazon Basics batteries off of Amazon before :/

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#102

Post by joering2 »

tombrossman wrote: post #18

This is interesting because Amazon isn't exactly known for supply chain integrity. Who here hasn't received fakes from Amazon? If you rely on a specific medication for your health, is Amazon a brand you trust to deliver it? How long until they start commingling pills and shipping random counterfeit/fake product to users? Hope it never happens but if they do with pharmaceuticals what they did with everything else they…

Yes but wasn't Holmes allowed to give people fake services for many years before it caught up with her?

In no way I say it was fine, I'm just saying that Amazon will have time and opportunities to fix whatever counterfeits popup before hammer will go down on them.

It may also be they won't allow 3rd party markets into healthcare, we just don't know yet all the details.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#103

Post by xkjkls »

petra wrote: post #71
jonknee wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have lots of different businesses and associated supply chains, they're not going to have random 3rd parties selling prescriptions on Amazon like they do for many verticals. There would be no reason to integrate prescriptions in with their warehouses, so I don't think one is going to change the other.

Interesting. Do they all ready have a supply chain close to the requirements needed in healthcare ? For what ?

It depends on what you mean by healthcare. There are many different supply chains in the industry and they are all regulated and managed slightly differently.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#104

Post by xkjkls »

bduerst wrote: post #101
noname120 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does this really apply to products sold by Amazon?

Yeah, I've bought counterfeit Amazon Basics batteries off of Amazon before :/

That sounds shocking to me. Did you notify Amazon about that?

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#105

Post by nickthegreek »

mikeatlas wrote: post #90
cabaalis wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious if you know why the ADD meds must be hand-delivered when government is actively incentivising e-prescribing among providers?

Controlled substance and cannot be prescribed more than 1mo supply at a time.

It is a huge pain. Even if your prescriber gives you 3 prescriptions (1 month each, which I think is the maximum amount of time for a controlled substance in a single prescription), the entity that is fulfilling that order is not allowed to hold onto the other 2 for future fulfillment.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#106

Post by vkou »

petra wrote: post #73
Aloha wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's likely they'll integrate on the ecommerce side of things, not on the supply chain side anyhow - the economy of scale that amazon has for shipping will be beneficial.

People don't want to buy legal drugs from their UPS guy. EDIT: i'm from outside the US, and after reading all the complains about delivery people throwing packages etc, i thought people don't trust delivery guys enough for medicine. It appears i was wrong.

My partner buys legal drugs from her pharmacy. Half the friggin time, there's some supply problem on the back-end, and she can't get her drugs in time.

Anyone who could fix this problem will get her business in a heartbeat.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#107

Post by xkjkls »

charleyma wrote: post #2

Meanwhile, CVS + Walgreens lost $6B in market cap on the news Amazon is moving directly into pharmacy space. It's crazy how competitive Wall Street views Amazon moving into a market; have there been examples of Amazon making a large purchase/move but completely failing? (sure there are, just not coming me off the top of my head)

They tried a travel site once; they tried to sell insurance once; they tried to make a phone once; etc.

They fail a lot of the time, but sometimes even when they do, it's a kick in the ass to some of the other competitors in the field, which causes them to depress their margins. So sometimes, even if Amazon's presence in the market fizzles out, they end up still reducing other's prospects.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#108

Post by xkjkls »

joeax wrote: post #98
simonsarris wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the time. They tried to make a move into retail registers to compete with Square, and failed. They shuttered Amazon register in 2015: https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/amazon-shutting-do... They tried to take on Etsy with Amazon Handmade which bombed Etsy stock, but Handmade has gone pretty much nowhere, except some re-branding this year. People just forget Amazon's failed ventures, even fairly high profi…

+ I'm wary of Amazon Grocery. We had a bad experience with home delivery 10 years ago and my wife refuses to do it again. For packaged goods and non-perishables it's fine, but with fresh meats and produce it's hit and miss. It may not be failure but I doubt it will kill or disrupt the grocery business.

I'm pretty sure their grocery business has changed alot in the last 10 years, and will probably change even more with the integration of Whole Foods.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#109

Post by jhenkens »

treis wrote: post #80
deminature wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you're buying directly from Amazon, or does this only apply to marketplace sellers?

The problem is that inventory from different sellers is commingled unless the seller pays extra. So Amazon's controllers are in the same bin as the ones from Real Good Fakes Inc. Even if you buy from Amazon the actual product you get might have been supplied by Real Good Fakes.

Is it not still shown as "Fullfilled by Amazon" but all grouped under the same product page? I presumed "Sold by Amazon.com" meant procured, shelved, and shipped directly via Amazon.com, none of this third party fulfillment crap.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#110

Post by snissn »

harshaw wrote: post #81

I interviewed at Pillpack years ago and was very impressed but didn't get the gig. They seemed to be solving a great problem for customers using multiple medicines. I am not sure the solution works well for the millions of us taking one pill every night, e.g the "pillpack" is wasteful. It also doesn't address this really annoying problem I have getting my daughter's ADD meds. These require a paper prescription that m…

> for the millions of us taking one pill every night, e.g the "pillpack" is wasteful.

Does the pillpack have a separate pack for each day with the date clearly labeled? If so I feel that would help a lot with adherence, which in my opinion is a serious problem

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