March 13 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) said on Wednesday

it has brought on Amazon.com's ( AMZN ) pharmacy unit to deliver

drug prescriptions sent to its direct-to-consumer service,

LillyDirect.

Lilly launched the platform in January to enable patients to

obtain their migraine, diabetes and obesity drugs, including the

popular weight-loss medicine Zepbound, directly from the company

via delivery from online pharmacy Truepill.

The drugmaker said prescriptions sent to LillyDirect

Pharmacy Solutions would now be delivered by either Amazon

Pharmacy or Truepill, depending on the patient's insurance

coverage and other factors.

Lilly's vice president of managed healthcare services, Frank

Cunningham, said they planned to split the orders between the

two companies. He said Lilly was "very pleased" with the number

of prescriptions it had filled through LillyDirect but declined

to share the number.

A Lilly spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the

website has generated significant interest since the launch and

that the drugmaker "looked forward to continuing to enhance

LillyDirect with additional medicines, partners and service

providers in the near future."

Cunningham said the Indianapolis-based drugmaker was

considering partnering with a retail pharmacy to offer a pick-up

option for LillyDirect customers.

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth told Reuters shortly

after LillyDirect was launched that the pharmacy chain could be

"a very natural potential partner for someone like Lilly."

LillyDirect was launched on the back of surging demand last

year for powerful weight-loss drugs including Zepbound and Novo

Nordisk's Wegovy.

The market for obesity drugs is estimated to reach at least

$100 billion by the end of the decade, as consumers flock to the

new treatments that have been shown to reduce weight by as much

as 20%.

Lilly CEO David Ricks told Reuters in January that the

website would ensure that coupons that bring the cost of

Zepbound down to $550 a month were applied, and would also

encourage users to avoid compounded or fake versions of the

medicine.

The website also connects patients to independent telehealth

providers who can complement their current team of doctors or be

an alternative to in-person care for certain conditions, the

company has previously said.