Pfizer may be the next pharma giant to launch a direct-to-consumer platform.
The company applied in April to trademark “Pfizer for All” for a number of uses, including online retail pharmacy services and mobile software to provide information and resources to patients. The trademark application was first reported by the Financial Times. Unnamed sources told the FT in May that Pfizer was working on an online platform for ordering products such as its Covid-19 antiviral Paxlovid and migraine treatment Zavzpret. (Endpoints News is a part of FT Specialist, a unit of the Financial Times.)
According to the application, the intended retail pharmacy services include “mail order pharmacy services; online retail pharmacy services; online retail pharmacy services for ordering, purchase, and delivery of pharmaceuticals; appointment scheduling services in the field of medicine and telehealth; pharmaceutical services, namely, processing online and telephone prescription orders in retail and central fill pharmacies.”
The company also described downloadable software that would enable patients to “request, receive, and manage prescriptions and orders of the pharmaceuticals and over the counter medicated preparations.”
Pfizer did not address the proposed trademark or which products would be available through the retail pharmacy services described in the application in a response to Endpoints.
“We know that our breakthroughs can only realize their full potential if they get to the patients who need them,” a Pfizer spokesperson said Monday. The company added that it has “history of and an ongoing commitment” to providing information and other resources to patients.
Eli Lilly launched a similar platform in January for patients with obesity, diabetes and migraine. The program, called LillyDirect, offers a digital pharmacy, access to independent telehealth providers, and a search tool that connects patients to providers in their area, among other features.