It won’t be super easy for Apple and Amazon to make big pushes into the healthcare space.
That is according to former Apple CEO John Sculley.
“It would make sense for Amazon to get into healthcare [PBM] industry,” Sculley told TheStreet in an interview when asked about rumors of Amazon looking to enter the pharmacy industry. “The challenge for Amazon is not that they don’t have the technology prowess, it’s the complexity of the domain of healthcare.” Sculley explained that it would be logical for Amazon to get into the supply chain management side of the business — the only question being does it partner with someone or build out a drug supply chain of its own.
Amazon may be about to give it all a shot. The company has gained approval to become a wholesale drug distributor in 12 states, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
As for Apple, which has been rumored to have shown interest in buying a health clinic provider, Sculley said such a move would come with challenges as well.
Sculley knows a thing or two about the healthcare industry. He is an investor and chief marketing officer at upstart pharmacy benefit manager RxAdvance. “I think RXAdvance is the most interesting company I have worked at since Apple — we are disrupting the most vulnerable and expensive area of the market.” Sculley said he expects RxAdvance to boast $2 billion in contracted revenue by 2018 and $10 billion by 2020.
For the full interview: https://www.thestreet.com/story/14354803/1/amazon-and-apple-healthcare-john-sculley.html