People in North Carolina to Receive Their Prescription Meds via Drones, Within 15 Minutes

Zipline recently announced that it teamed up with pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) Magellan Rx to start delivering prescription medications using the former’s drones. The delivery service will initially be offered to patients in North Carolina and is expected to become available sometime this year, assuming it receives approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Magellan Rx will operate from Zipline’s distribution center located in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which can serve customers within 7,800 sq miles (20,200 sq km). Those in need will receive prescription meds, including traditional and specialty medications, directly to their home, in as little as fifteen minutes.

By working with Magellan, the company aims to reimagine the patient experience, bring care closer to home, and help patients treat and manage chronic and complex health conditions, as stated by Zipline’s CEO, Keller Rinaudo.

Zipline boasts of having flown over 16 million miles so far, completing more than 235,000 commercial deliveries, with an average of one delivery made every four minutes. Its drones feature a built-in navigation system that allows the aircraft to autonomously figure out where it is in three-dimensional space, with an accuracy of one centimeter (0.3”). They can fly for up to 50 miles (80 km) on a charge when they are loaded at full capacity.

The collaboration with Magellan Rx is not the first for Zipline in the U.S. The company launched its first commercial delivery service in the country last November, in Northwest Arkansas, via a partnership with Walmart. But it will be a first for Magellan, which claims that through this agreement, it will become the first national PBM to deliver medications using Zipline’s technology.