KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Prescription medications could soon be delivered straight from the sky to your doorstep.
Zipline announced this week it's partnering with Magellan Rx Management to make deliveries via its uncrewed aircrafts around its distribution center in Kannapolis, pending FAA approval.
According to a news release, the operation aims to “reduce barriers for patients with complex health conditions in North Carolina.”
"We're trying to make sort of the transportation of physical goods, like medicine, as easy as information on the Internet,” Conor French, general counsel for Zipline, said.
Magellan Rx plans to begin operations in 2022, pending FAA approval, and will operate from Zipline’s existing distribution center in Kannapolis, according to a release. The center is capable of serving customers within 7,800 square miles.
Patients can expect to receive needed medications through the automated on-demand delivery in as little as 15 minutes, a release said.
"What we have is both the speed of getting medicine there quicker, but also the predictability of saying here's this short window of time when you'll be receiving it,” French said. “And it will be dropped in your backyard or your front yard or some sort of area there, and so it really increases the convenience and also, obviously makes it not necessary to leave home."
Novant Health partnered with Zipline in May 2020 amid the pandemic for contactless delivery of personal protective equipment and medical supplies to Novant teams in the Charlotte area.
Angela Yochem, EVP and chief transformation and digital officer for Novant Health, said in a statement to WCNC, “Our launch of the nation’s first emergency drone operation was never the end-goal for our partnership with Zipline. This partnership aims to transform the patient experience by strengthening our virtual care ecosystem. We’ve been actively working on the next phase of our partnership, which will include delivery of medications directly to patients, enabling them to get all the care they need without ever leaving their home. We’ll have more to announce in the coming months.”
French said Zipline was able to use the technology it had at the time in 2020 to meet the needs of frontline health care workers, and it showed the potential of what the company could do.
Now, the company is looking to the future beyond the pandemic.
“What we’re doing here is really providing that service on a regular basis,” French said. “And saying that you know, these folks and communities deserve access to medicine in this way all the time, not just in the face of a pandemic.”
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.