Pharmacy2U has announced the relaunch of its veterinary care platform, which it said makes it “the only online pharmacy” to provide pet prescriptions alongside human health services “via an app”.
It said the platform, renamed Pharmacy2U Pet Health, now offers pet owners “the same leading medicine availability” and free 48-hour deliveries as its 1.8 million other customers across England.
The move follows Pharmacy2U’s acquisition of “leading veterinary online pharmacy” The PharmPet Co for “an undisclosed sum” in May 2024.
The company told C+D that while its pet health platform was previously accessible via the Pharmacy2U app, it linked out to The PharmPet Co “as a separate service” - and that the relaunch means the offering “is now fully integrated into the core Pharmacy2U” platform.
“One-stop shop”
Pharmacy2U said its website and app now allows people to handle the entire family’s prescriptions “using a combined basket feature” and makes “shopping for health and wellness products, as well as NHS and pet prescriptions, easier than ever”.
Its “digital health and wellbeing hub”, first launched last February, combines pharmacy, online GP consultations, NHS, vet, health and wellbeing services into a “single platform”.
The company said integrating its pet services into the app brings it “one step closer to becoming a one-stop shop for digital healthcare for the whole family, including furry ones”.
Read more: Pharmacy2U acquires ‘one of UK’s largest’ care home pharmacies
Pharmacy2U veterinary services director Neil Younger, who is also the original founder of The PharmPet Co, said pet owners “are often unaware” that they can sometimes get their pet’s medication “up to 50% cheaper by simply going online”.
“For millions of people across the nation, pets are seen as another member of the family, so it is only fair that owners can manage their medicines in the same way they do for the rest of the family,” he added.
“Becoming part of Pharmacy2U will give us greater reach, better tools and we’re well aligned on our core values.”
Read more: Pharmacy2U pre-tax losses up 68% despite revenue growth
It comes amid a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into prescription pricing in the UK veterinary sector, which has so far found that there are competition problems in the market and that the current regulatory system “is not fit for purpose”.
The CMA in October proposed a number of measures to address the issues it had identified, with a final decision to be published by March this year.
And it follows Pharmacy2U making “its first step into the care home pharmacy sector” in January with the acquisition of “one of the UK’s largest” care home pharmacy providers.
