Pfizer joins direct-to-consumer drug sales
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Pfizer on Tuesday became the latest major drugmaker to sell medicine directly to consumers, launching a digital platform that's initially directed at people with migraines and respiratory ailments, including COVID-19.
Why it matters: The move puts Pfizer in competition with Eli Lilly, which in January launched its own D2C platform to provide prescriptions for conditions like obesity, migraines, and diabetes.
- The new portal could stir up more business for Pfizer drugs, though the company said patients won't be steered to its products and that decisions will remain with physicians.
Driving the news: The PfizerForAll platform leverages partnerships with telehealth provider UpScriptHealth, online pharmacy Alto Pharmacy, and the grocery delivery service Instacart.
- It offers $35 virtual appointments with clinicians and home delivery of prescription drugs, along with appointment scheduling for vaccinations.
- It also will help commercially insured patients find co-pay cards and other company assistance for accessing its drugs.
- Pfizer said it will keep building out the platform to address a broader range of needs and conditions.
The site links to information for Pfizer products like the migraine drug Nurtec but also offers a choice of vaccines, such as between Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's COVID shots.
- The platform is aimed at people who "experience information overload and encounter roadblocks when making decisions for themselves or their family in our complex and often overwhelming U.S. healthcare system," said Aamir Malik, Pfizer's executive vice president and chief U.S. commercial officer.
- It also gives patients a chance to bypass their primary care physician and get drugs directly from the manufacturer.
Yes, but: The American College of Physicians has questioned the D2C model, saying it's oriented around using telehealth to prescribe a drugmaker's products and could leave patients confused and misinformed.
