Amazon has applied for a trademark for ‘Amazon Pharmacy’ in the UK, Canada and Australia as the retailer eyes a major expansion into the market.
Filings at the UK’s intellectual property office from January 9 also lists a range of other areas Amazon is seemingly considering, including surgical and dental instruments alongside pharmaceutical, medical and veterinary preparations, according to CNBC.
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PillPack, the US pharmacy that Amazon purchased in 2018 specialising in home delivery, confirmed the filing while adding that it trademarks had also been filed in Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, the EU, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UAE.
Though Amazon is understood to have been eyeing an expansion into the sector for some years, the Amazon Pharmacy branding only appeared at the end of 2019 when PillPack informed its customers that it would be including references to the brand on printed materials and on its labels.
Though this signals Amazon intentions to break into the international pharmaceutical market, PillPack still faces many challenges in its home country in what has proven to be complex and competitive market.
Since Amazon purchased the pharmacy, it has faced litigation from various competitors regarding its hiring practices and its access to patient medication data.
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