UnitedHealth Group, which happens to be the United States’ largest health insurer, has acquired DivvyDose, a start-up that helps patients with chronic illness get their medicines delivered in pre-sorted packages.

According to a CNBC report, the deal price was just over $300 million, though a spokesperson for UnitedHealth declined to comment. Talks between the two companies were previously reported by Bloomberg.

The company

Founded in 2015, DivvyDose users can either sign up for the service online and by phone, then get their medication sorted into packets with clearly-labeled dates and times. These packets are then sent to patients along with a full medication list.

The Illinois-based company doesn’t charge any additional money outside of the patients’ co-pay, and it accepts all the major insurance plans.

According to CrunchBase, DivvyDose hasn’t raised any institutional investment from venture capital funds or private equity. Its CEO, Arvind Movva, is a doctor and serial entrepreneur, who describes his goal on LinkedIn as helping “improve health care outcomes and value.”

The context

Many of the largest retailers and health plans are snapping up start-ups in the online pharmacy space. Amazon acquired PillPack, a competitor to DivvyDose in 2018, and Walmart recently scooped up medication management technology from CareZone.

One reason for this is to tap into the base of customers that use these services, many of whom are juggling multiple medications. For retailers, like Amazon and Walmart, it’s a way to broaden their footprint in the $300 billion pharmacy market. On the other hand, health plans like UnitedHealth could benefit by providing additional benefits to a segment of users that rely on getting their medicines delivered in easy-to-use packets.