By Amina Niasse

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) – Amazon.com said on Thursday its pharmacy will stock Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic pill to treat type 2 diabetes at its ‌kiosks and offer same-day delivery of the drug

Novo’s Ozempic uses the active ingredient ‌semaglutide to control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, where the body either fails to produce or ​resists insulin, the hormone regulating blood sugar. Amazon has been stocking Novo’s weight-loss drug Wegovy, which uses the same active ingredient as Ozempic, since January. It announced in April it would also stock rival Eli Lilly’s Foundayo pill for weight-loss.

“Amazon Pharmacy continues to provide customers expanded ‌selection and reliable, convenient access to ⁠the latest treatments like the Ozempic pill for type 2 diabetes,” said Tanvi Patel, a vice president at Amazon. “We are making it easy ⁠for customers to get the medication they need to stay healthy.”

Amazon began delivering GLP-1 medications, a class of drugs to treat diabetes and obesity, in 2021. It does not stock the injectibles ​in kiosks ​because they need to be refrigerated, unlike the ​pill versions.

Half of Amazon’s U.S. customers ‌have access to same-day delivery and all customers receive their medications within four days. Amazon will offer same-day delivery for Ozempic to about 3,000 locales and will expand access to 4,500 by year-end.

Customers with a prescription can order the pill through Amazon Pharmacy for $149 monthly for cash or through insurance, the company said. The lowest price with insurance is $25, Amazon ‌said in its release.

Novo’s Wegovy pill is stocked ​in five kiosks in California, where customers can pick ​up the drugs at Amazon’s One ​Medical locations following a medical appointment.

Amazon announced the kiosks to address barriers ‌to access and limit shipping expenses for ​customers, first targeting drugs ​like antibiotics, blood pressure medicines and asthma inhalers.

Patients do not need a One Medical subscription, Amazon’s primary and urgent care service, to book an appointment and use ​the kiosks. A one-year One ‌Medical subscription fee costs $199.

Amazon invested over $4 billion last year in an effort to ​triple its company-wide delivery options in 2026, targeting small towns and rural ​areas.

(Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)