Amazon’s purchase of an online pharmacy could “threaten” community pharmacies in the UK, an NHS deputy chief pharmacist has warned.

Amazon’s purchase of an online pharmacy could “threaten” community pharmacies in the UK, an NHS deputy chief pharmacist has warned.

The delivery giant announced that it had agreed to acquire PillPack, a US online pharmacy business licensed to deliver pre-sorted medicine doses to patients across all 50 states.

Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Consumer Jeff Wilke said in a statement: “We want to help [PillPack] continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier.”

The news comes after months of speculation that Amazon was planning to move into the US pharmacy sector.

Source C&D