Amazon said on Thursday it would buy small online pharmacy PillPack, a move that will put the world’s biggest online retailer in direct competition with drugstore chains, drug distributors, and pharmacy benefit managers. The deal’s potential to disrupt major players across the drug supply chain nationwide prompted a sell-off in shares of possible rivals, while sending Amazon shares up 2.5 percent. PillPack supplies pre-sorted prescription drugs and other services to people who take multiple medications, a growing market as the U.S. population ages and requires treatment for multiple complex, chronic conditions. (Ankur Banerjee and Bill Berkrot, Reuters)
