Digital health and AI company MedPal AI this week (November 10) announced that the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) has granted it ownership of a DSP contract.
The contract was previously held by Universal Pharmacy Ltd, it said, which Companies House records show has been “in administration” since August.
Read more: CPE: New DSPs banned as they ‘undermine’ bricks-and-mortars
It added that the approval - which represents the company’s “first NHS contract” - “formally completes the acquisition of the assets from Universal” by MedPal AI.
The acquisition is “particularly significant” now that the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is no longer issuing new DSP licences, the company said.
Traditional pharmacy “failing”
MedPal AI chief executive Jason Drummond said that the approval marks the company’s “official entry into NHS pharmaceutical services” and “represents a significant validation of [its] operational capabilities”.
He added that the “traditional pharmacy model is failing many users on cost, convenience and accessibility” and that MedPal AI has “built an integrated, AI-powered healthcare ecosystem that operates 24/7, making healthcare easily accessible and more affordable for everyone”.
Read more: ‘Anti-competitive’ contract favours bricks-and-mortars, DSPs protest
Meanwhile, MedPal AI also this month (November 7) announced the launch of its retail pharmacy website MedPal.clinic, which it said will initially target the “rapidly expanding UK weight loss medication market”.
Private prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) weight loss drugs average at “£150 to £200 per month” in the UK, it added, representing a “target addressable market exceeding £500 million in monthly revenue”.
And the company revealed that it has “already received orders” for drugs through its new weight loss service - which “reflects growing consumer demand for accessible telehealth services combined with rapid medication fulfilment”, it said.
Read more: WeightWatchers partners with Amazon to deliver weight loss jabs
It comes after legislation to prevent any new DSP applications from being accepted came into effect in June, amid concerns there are already “more than sufficient” numbers.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) told C+D at the time that the decision was made “for a number of reasons”, including that “there are approximately 400 DSP pharmacies currently in operation”.
“New ‘local’ DSP pharmacies…can undermine the viability of nearby ‘bricks-and-mortar’ pharmacies”, it added.
