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Two Amazon executives who played an early role in the retail giant’s health care are departing.
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According to a post by Parker, TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen, co-founders of prescription drug startup PillPack, will be leaving Amazon later this month. LinkedIn Profile, Amazon bought PillPack in 2018 for about $750 million.
Following the acquisition, Parker and Cohen helped launch Amazon Pharmacy, the company’s online pharmacy for delivering prescription drugs in the US. axios informed of.
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“I am writing to let you all know that Elliott and I are moving on from PillPack and Amazon at the end of the month,” Parker wrote. “Out of everything, it’s the people we met along the way and who joined us on this journey that we’ll miss the most, and we’ll miss you all.”
Parker and Cohen co-founded PillPack in 2013. Parker, whose father was a pharmacist, attended pharmacy school in Boston. He met Cohen, who was at MIT’s business school. PillPack began serving customers in 2014, and Parker’s father joined as one of the company’s first pharmacists.
Amazon has accelerated its pace in health care in recent years, though not all of its efforts have been successful. The pharmacy business struggled to gain traction, and Amazon recently announced it would be shutting down its telehealth service Amazon Care after it didn’t have a “full enough offering” for customers.
Earlier last year, Amazon formed a joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to reduce healthcare costs. The entity was called Haven, and its initial expected entry into the health care market sent providers’ shares to falter.
Still, Amazon is investing significant capital and resources in the space. In July, Amazon said it would acquire One Medical for $3.9 billion, creating a network of boutique primary care clinics. Amazon also operates a consumer diagnostics venture.
Amazon had reshuffled its health leadership before Parker and Cohen left. Last December, CNBC reported that the company upgraded its former prime boss, Neil Lindsay, to oversee its health efforts. John Love, who previously served as vice president at Amazon’s Alexa division, was named vice president of pharmacy and PillPack in January.
In a memo to the healthcare team on Monday, Lindsay called Parker and Cohen’s departure “bittersweet” and thanked the PillPack founders for helping them develop strategies “to help improve the customer healthcare experience.” Gave.
“Driven by their vision and customer passion, the PillPack business and capabilities became the foundation of Amazon Pharmacy,” Lindsay wrote.
watch: Amazon launches online pharmacy in US
