PillPack
{{Short description|American online pharmacy}}
{{Infobox company
| name = PillPack, Inc.
| logo = PillPack logo as of January 2022.jpg
| type = Division
| founders = TJ Parker
Elliot Cohen
| hq_location = Manchester, New Hampshire, United States
| area_served = United States
| key_people =
| industry = Pharmaceutical
| products =
| services = Online retailer
| website = {{URL|pillpack.com}}
| logo_caption =
| foundation = {{Start date and age|2013}}
| parent = Amazon
}}
PillPack, Inc. is an American online pharmacy which is a subsidiary of Amazon. It is based in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States.{{cite web | title=Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B | website=TechCrunch | date=2018-06-28 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/28/amazon-buys-pillpack-an-online-pharmacy-that-was-rumored-to-be-talking-to-walmart/ | first=Ingrid | last=Lunden}} The company was founded in 2013.
History
The company was founded in 2013 by TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen.{{cite news|title=Amazon Enters the Pharmacy World with Acquisition of PillPack|date=2018-06-28|first1=Gina|last1=Kokosky|first2=Colleen|last2=Hall|url=https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/amazon-enters-the-pharmacy-world-with-acquisition-of-pillpack--|work=Pharmacy Times}} By 2014 the IDEO incubated company was licensed in 31 states and shipping medication in dosage packets with robots handling the packaging process.{{cite magazine |last1=Flaherty |first1=Joe |title=A Drug-Dealing Robot That Upends the Pharmacy Model |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/02/pillpack-uses-design-thinking-become-pharmacy-future/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=4 December 2019 |date=14 February 2014}} Software development and management were based in Somerville, Massachusetts, with pharmacy fulfillment operations at the Millyard complex in Manchester, New Hampshire, former site of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.
In April 2016, Express Scripts announced it would remove PillPack from its pharmacy benefit manager network at the end of the month, saying the company had misrepresented itself as a physical pharmacy rather than mail-order. PillPack alleged that Express Scripts was simply trying to give an anti-competitive advantage to its own mail-order pharmacy. PillPack launched the website FixPharmacy.com and began a publicity campaign, urging affected customers (which represented about a third of its business) to complain to Express Scripts.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/04/14/technology/pillpack-express-scripts/index.html |title=PillPack vs. Express Scripts: When business turns ugly, people suffer |author=Sara Ashley O'Brien |date=April 14, 2016 |publisher=CNN}} Express Scripts agreed to allow PillPack to remain in its network before the suspension took effect.{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morning_call/2016/04/express-scripts-pillpack-reach-agreement-report.html |title=Express Scripts, PillPack reach agreement: Report |author=Angela Mueller |newspaper=St. Louis Business Journal |date=April 28, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/4004706/pillpack-ceo-to-customers-we-reached-an-agreement-with-express-scripts-2 |date=April 25, 2016 |title=PillPack vs Express Scripts: The saga is over |magazine=Fast Company|author=Christina Farr}}
In June 2018, Amazon.com acquired the company for a reported {{USD|753 million}}.{{cite news | last=Farr | first=Christina | title=The inside story of why Amazon bought PillPack in its effort to crack the $500 billion prescription market | work=CNBC | date=2019-05-10 | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/why-amazon-bought-pillpack-for-753-million-and-what-happens-next.html}} In November 2019, the company changed their branding from "PillPack, an Amazon company" to "PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy".{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Ahiza|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/15/tech/amazon-pharmacy-pillpack/index.html |title=Amazon rolls out 'Amazon Pharmacy' branding to PillPack |work=CNN Business |publisher=Cable News Network |date=2019-11-15 |access-date=2019-11-18 }}{{cite web |title=Amazon Buys PillPack an Online Pharmacy |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/28/amazon-buys-pillpack-an-online-pharmacy-that-was-rumored-to-be-talking-to-walmart/ |website=Tech Crunch |access-date=23 February 2021}}
In June 2019, the federal district court for Rhode Island ruled that former CVS Caremark head John Levin violated his 18-month non-compete agreement by working at PillPack in a position responsible for insurance payment negotiations.{{cite news |url=https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/court-says-cvs-execs-move-to-pillpack-violated-noncompete/557200/ |title=Court says CVS exec's move to PillPack violated noncompete }}
In June 2020, PillPack announced plans to build a customer service call center in Meridian, Idaho, to expand upon its existing call center in Salt Lake City, Utah.{{cite news |url=https://www.idahopress.com/meridian/news/planning_and_construction/amazon-owned-pillpack-to-build-meridian-call-center-create-500-new-jobs/article_daf65395-e109-5248-b369-350463d2ca24.html |title=Amazon-owned PillPack to build Meridian call center, create 500 new jobs |author=Ryan Suppe |date=Jun 12, 2020 |newspaper=Meridian Press}}
In December 2021, Parker and Cohen were removed from Amazon Pharmacy management. Parker was replaced in the reporting chain by Amazon Alexa VP John Love, and Neil Lindsay, who had previously overseen Amazon Prime, was put in charge of both Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon Care. Axios described the two as being "demoted to consultants" but Amazon said it was not a demotion, and that they remain Amazon employees.{{cite news |url=https://www.axios.com/2021/12/17/scoop-amazon-pharmacy-leaders-demoted |title=Scoop: Amazon Pharmacy leaders demoted |date=December 17, 2021 |author=Erin Brodwin |publisher=Axios}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/15/amazon-elevates-former-prime-boss-neil-lindsay-to-run-health-efforts.html |title=Amazon elevates former Prime boss to oversee health efforts |date=December 15, 2021 |author1=Annie Palmer |author2=Bertha Coombs
|publisher=CNBC}}{{cite news |url=https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/amazon-taps-former-prime-executive-to-oversee-virtual-care-pharmacy-and-diagnostics-businesses |title=Amazon taps former Prime executive to oversee virtual care, pharmacy and diagnostics businesses |author=Heather Landi |date=December 19, 2021 |publisher=Fierce Healthcare}}
In May 2022, PillPack agreed to pay $5.79 million to the federal government and some states settle a Department of Justice lawsuit. The complaint alleged that from April 2014 to November 2019, the company sent a larger amount of insulin to Medicare and Medicaid patients than allowed, then falsely reported the remaining supply those patients had in order to avoid penalties.{{cite news |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/amazon-pillpack-6m-settle-doj-fraud-suit |title=Amazon-owned PillPack pays nearly $6 million to settle DOJ fraud suit |date=May 3, 2022 |author=Erin Brodwin |publisher=Axios}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/4/23056609/amazon-pillpack-lawsuit-insulin-medicare-medicaid |title=Amazon-owned PillPack settles DOJ insulin lawsuit for $6 million |author=Nicole Wetsman |date=May 4, 2022}}