Amazon could enter drug distribution trade: Ohio not among states, yet

Amazon has been picking up licenses around the U.S. to be a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor.

The Seattle-based giant that’s been rapidly branching beyond its e-commerce business and into other industries and it now could be setting the stage to enter the pharmacy wholesale business.

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Amazon has not applied for a wholesale distribution license in Ohio, according to the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

The St. Louis Dispatch-Post reported Amazon has received approval for wholesale pharmacy licenses in at least 12 states, including Nevada, Arizona, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, Idaho, New Hampshire, Oregon and Tennessee. It has a pending application in Maine.

An Amazon spokesperson told the Post-Dispatch the company does not comment on “rumors and speculation.”

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If Amazon made an entrance into the pharmaceutical wholesale business, it could pose a threat to distributers like Springboro-based Miami-Luken and Columbus-based Cardinal Health.

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