New Delhi, August 18: As the online medicine delivery market spurred during the novel coronavirus pandemic, Walmart-owned Flipkart is eyeing to enter the e-pharmacy market. It has already started the early-stage talks for a partnership with PharmEasy, a report in Times of India said. This development comes after rival Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy in India. Amazon Pharmacy Launched in India for Online Medicine Delivery, Starting With Bengaluru; to Compete with PharmEasy, 1mg, Medlife and NetMeds

According to the report, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy has held several rounds of discussions with PharmEasy, that is in advanced talks to acquire Medlife. "Flipkart wants to be sure of the legal framework before rolling out the service as there are ambiguities with parts of law for selling medicine online, which has created friction with traditional chemists," a person aware of the development was quoted as saying by TOI.

While the talks are underway, the e-commerce giant has not ruled out potential investment. However, a Flipkart spokesperson said that they are not in "talks with any e-pharma player with an investment view as of now." Reliance Industries in Talks to Buy Online Start-Ups Milkbasket, Urban Ladder: Report.

Amazon on Friday launched online Pharmacy store. According to the company statement, the service is currently live in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is also in talks to acquire Netmeds.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 18, 2020 05:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).