Digital Pharmacies Filling Orders Online Go After CVS, Walgreens

Filling a prescription can be time-consuming and frustrating. There’s the trip to the pharmacy, then the wait in line. Best case, you walk away with your medication. Worst case, you learn the drug is too expensive, and you leave empty-handed. Tech companies say they can do better than the brick-and-mortar chains most Americans visit for their pills, saving customers time, money, and headaches with their apps.

At least a dozen startups are trying to disrupt a $465 billion U.S. industry, in which sales are largely concentrated among 15 big pharmacies, led by CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., according to researcher Drug Channels Institute. Amazon.com Inc. gave the emerging sector a vote of confidence with its 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which delivers prescription drugs in packets sorted by when they’re meant to be taken. The $753 million deal was a springboard that helped Amazon build a broader digital pharmacy business. Three closely watched startups, Alto, Capsule, and Medly, have together raised more than $650 million since January 2020.