Eli Lilly has tapped Amazon Pharmacy as a partner to deliver select medications including weight loss drugs directly to consumers' homes.
Through the partnership, Amazon Pharmacy will handle a portion of home deliveries for Eli Lilly's anti-obesity drug Zepbound and other medications from the drugmaker prescribed to patients for obesity, diabetes or migraine. The offering is for medications ordered through Eli Lilly's new direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect. Amazon Pharmacy also offers access to clinical pharmacists for patients with questions about their care.
The drugmaker launched LillyDirect in January, where customers can order prescriptions to treat migraines, obesity and diabetes directly from the manufacturer. The website connects people with independent telehealth providers for obesity medications if they are eligible. Eli Lilly has said providers working with LillyDirect "are not incentivized by Lilly" to promote its products, and that they will not be compensated by the company for prescribing Zepbound.
Experts and industry analysts largely agree LillyDirect will increase access to patients who may benefit from its anti-obesity drug, though some have raised questions surrounding appropriate care coordination and called for more transparency on the business model behind the offering.
Before the partnership with Amazon, Truepill was the only pharmacy partner dispensing medicines ordered through the LillyDirect platform. Most prescription deliveries will be split between the two partners, depending on a patient's insurance status and other details, the company told CNBC.
If a medication prescribed through the platform is an Eli Lilly drug, Amazon Pharmacy can deliver treatments to patients' homes. Officials told CNBC that free two-day deliveries will apply to patients who have a Prime membership. Patients who see a provider in person can also request for their prescription to be dispensed through LillyDirect, which then routes deliveries through Amazon Pharmacy or Truepill.
Eli Lilly has not said how many patients have used LillyDirect since its launch early this year, but told CNBC it plans to expand medications offered through the program and has seen "significant interest." Mounjaro, which is indicated for Type 2 diabetes, is not part of LillyDirect, though Eli Lilly's CEO, David Ricks, previously said it may be added later.