The stocks of companies in the pharmaceutical supply chain dropped in Thursday afternoon trade after a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that online retailer Amazon has obtained approval to become a wholesale distributor in a number of states. Amazon has received approval in at least 12 states, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Speculation about an Amazon pharmacy entry has swirled since a CNBC report on the subject earlier this year, but Amazon has repeatedly declined to comment on or confirm any interest in pharmacy. Such a move would likely threaten a number of industry players, including drug wholesalers, pharmacy chains and pharmacy-benefit managers, middlemen that negotiate drug prices. Rite Aid Corp. shares dropped 5.6% in Thursday afternoon trade, CVS Health Corp. shares dropped 4.8%, Express Scripts Holding Company shares dropped 3.5%, McKesson Corp. shares dropped 3.4%, AmerisourceBergen Corp. shares dropped 4.4%, Walgreens Boots Alliance shares dropped 3.7% and Cardinal Health Inc. shares dropped 2.5%, compared with a 0.2% rise in the S&P 500 . Many of the stocks have plunged in the last several months on concerns about Amazon.
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