Amazon Is Already Undercutting Prices on Over-The-Counter Pills

As pharmacy chains await Amazon.com Inc.’s entry into the prescription-drug market, the online retail giant is already undercutting them for non-prescription medicine for aches, colds, and allergies.

Median prices for over-the-counter, private-brand medicine sold by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and CVS Health Corp. were about 20 percent higher than Basic Care, the over-the-counter drug line sold exclusively by Amazon, according to a report July 6 by Jefferies Group analysts.

Last week, Amazon announced that it was buying PillPack, a pharmacy company that will give it an entry point into the U.S.’s $328.6 billion market for prescription drugs. Shares of CVS ...