NEW YORK 鈥� Amazon Business, which sells bulk goods to business customers, has reportedly scrapped plans to distribute prescription drugs to hospitals.
Instead of distributing pharmaceuticals, the network said the e-tailer will keep selling less regulated medical supplies to hospitals and smaller clinics 鈥� a business which it has found to have unexpected challenges. The shelving of the hospital distribution plan was reported by CNBC , which cited anonymous sources.
The setback reveals the hurdles to getting into drug distribution, even for a player as large as . The company dropped the plan in part because of being unable to persuade big hospitals to change their traditional buying process, CNBC reported. And Amazon would need to establish a more sophisticated distribution network that can ship temperature-sensitive drugs.
Still, the online retailer hasn鈥檛 given up on the idea of eventually getting into drug distribution. Speculation is still strong that the company will at some point launch a direct-to-consumer prescription drug business.
The retreat from hospital distribution follows the announcement that Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will form an independent, nonprofit health care company to provide their employees better and more affordable health care. While details remain sparse, the initiative is considered a long-term effort that will focus initially on developing technology solutions to improve the quality and reduce the costs of health care for the participants鈥� employees.
