It seems like a strange thing for a delivery company to do, but shipper UPS has acquired a manufacturing pharmacy license from Georgia's Board of Pharmacy that enables the company to not only ship pharmaceuticals, but to relabel them.
CNBC reports that UPS has confirmed that it obtained the license "to provide services related to new and potential business engagements." A company spokesperson is cited saying in the report that not only would the new license would "effectively give the shipping company more flexibility in handling the product," but that the action was part of "standard operating procedure" in order to remain compliant with federal law. The new license could also be required if UPS wanted to add an insert to a shipping package, the spokesperson said.
"If you're Merck and you've got all this product, you need someone to kind of manage that," Stephen Buck, a drug supply chain expert and cofounder of Courage Health, is quoted saying in the report. Drugmakers may be contacting the shipper and "saying 'we do production, but we don't want to have to worry about supply chain management.'"
Recommended For You
The move can be seen as a response to Amazon's incursions into the pharmaceutical space by appearing to acquire a series of wholesaler licenses. However, the licenses Amazon applied for instead cover the distribution of medical-surgical equipment and other related devices. It could appear otherwise, since many states tend to lump types of distributors together. But Amazon did hold at least one meeting earlier this year, the report points out, to consider entering the pharmaceuticals shipping and distribution business.
"As a repackager, [UPS is] not just taking the product as it is from the manufacturer. It's being able to the product and individualize it and split it up into different units," according to Nicodemo Fiorentino, a drug supply chain and compliance attorney.
Fiorentino is quoted about the new UPS license in the report, adding, "Becoming an FDA-registered relabeler means UPS now has the ability to take products from a manufacturer, relabel them, and sell under their own label or brand. Because of FDA requirements, we will soon know what UPS will relabel, as each FDA registrant must list each drug that it manufactures, repacks, relabels, or salvages for commercial distribution."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
