Mr. Merlo, whose company won Justice Department approval to move forward with its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna Oct. 10, said he is more concerned with meeting customer needs than fearful off disruptors.
“So that’s what we focus on as an organization, with the goal being: Don’t leave any white space for Amazon to disrupt,” Mr. Merlo said.
In June, Amazon entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire online pharmacy PillPack for about $1 billion. Drugstores CVS, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid lost about $12.8 billion in market value in one day on the news.
However, Mr. Merlo said CVS has similar capabilities as PillPack, which markets itself as a “full-service” pharmacy with a 24/7 customer service team. It manages prescription medications for its customers by packaging, organizing and delivering them.
“We have that capability today,” Mr. Merlo said. “And listen, with the acquisition of PillPack, there’s nothing proprietary about their technology. It’s off the shelf.”
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