More patients are getting their meds online. Big Pharma wants in on the action

Since the pandemic, patients have become increasingly comfortable with getting their medications online. Direct-to-consumer telehealth has made it easy to schedule a virtual visit and get a script, sometimes within minutes, with prescriptions shipped to your doorstep.

Now, Big Pharma is ready to get in on the action.

In early January, Eli Lilly announced a platform that allows patients to access and fill prescriptions for its drugs online, timing the news to the availability of its obesity medication Zepbound. Using LillyDirect, patients click into a pipeline for their condition — obesity, diabetes, or migraine — and are routed to telehealth sites that can prescribe them one of Lilly’s drugs if they’re eligible. An integration with online pharmacy Truepill will deliver the meds.

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