Amazon may be expanding its prescription drug delivery business to other countries. The e-commerce titan has applied for a trademark on the name “Amazon Pharmacy” in Canada, the UK and Australia, according to CNBC. Amazon reportedly filed its applications on January 9th, in what could’ve been one of the earliest steps it took to start medicine delivery in countries other than the US.
Amazon purchased online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, a year after reports came out that it was looking to enter the healthcare industry. PillPack is a medicine delivery service catering to customers who need to take multiple daily medications. A few months after the acquisition was announced, the tech giant changed PillPack’s branding to PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy.
Amazon’s plans may still be in the very early stages, and besides, applying for a trademark doesn’t automatically make Pharmacy’s expansion a sure thing. CNBC noted, though, that the applications give us a glimpse of what the service has in store for its customers in the future: they suggest that Amazon Pharmacy could eventually start selling surgical and dental instruments, as well as medical and veterinary preparations.
