FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy Franchise

The Medicine Shoppe® Pharmacy is a community pharmacy franchise from Medicine Shoppe International, Inc. (MSI), a Cardinal Health company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri since 1970. MSI has franchised independent retail pharmacies for more than five decades and operates two sister brands, The Medicine Shoppe and Medicap Pharmacy, with locations across more than 40 states.

Each store is a locally owned neighborhood pharmacy built around prescription dispensing and personal patient care rather than big-box retail. Franchisees, who are typically licensed pharmacists, serve customers managing ongoing medication needs and offer clinical services such as immunizations and point-of-care testing.

The licensing model is unusual for franchising: owners pay a flat monthly fee rather than percentage-of-sales royalties, and can trade under the franchise name alone or co-brand it with an established local pharmacy name. Cardinal Health’s ownership connects the network to one of the largest healthcare distribution companies in the US.

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Why buy a The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy Franchise?

Pharmacy is an essential, needs-based category, and to buy a Medicine Shoppe franchise is to enter it with a system that has been opening and supporting independent pharmacies since 1970, backed by Cardinal Health, a top-25 Fortune 500 healthcare company. That parentage gives franchisees distribution scale and managed-care contracting support that a standalone independent has to negotiate alone.

The ownership economics are also distinctive. The flat monthly fee structure means revenue growth stays with the owner instead of scaling up a royalty bill, and the co-branding option lets an owner keep an established local pharmacy name while adding national brand support behind it.

The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy Franchise Costs & Information

Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

  • Brand Profile

    • Year Founded

      1970

    • Franchising Since

      1970

    • New Startup Cost

      $130,000 – $895,653

    • Avg. Resale Price

      Contact us for details

  • Franchise Fees

    • Initial franchise Fee

      $0

      for new territories

    • Transfer Fee

      $1,000

      for resales

    • Royalty Fee

      3%

      of gross sales

    • Marketing Fee

      0%

      No required advertising/marketing fund

  • Unit Performance

    • Total Units *

      271

    • New Units Opened *

      8

    • Units Transferred *

      12

    • Avg. Unit revenue *

      Not Disclosed

    * Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Franchisees work with a dedicated Franchise Business Consultant with pharmacy-management expertise, included at no additional cost. Marketing runs on the Cardinal Health Pharmacy Marketing Advantage digital platform, which drives refills and patient engagement, supported by the Order Express online resource center and Information Assistance Center phone support. Managed-care support includes Central Pay, the EQuIPP performance dashboard and audit assistance. Buyers of an existing unit should confirm what transfer onboarding MSI provides and how Franchise Business Consultant coverage and system access carry over.

  2. Ideal Owner

    The Medicine Shoppe is built for licensed pharmacists who want to own their practice rather than manage someone else's. The role is clinically led: dispensing, patient counseling, immunizations and prescriber relationships, alongside managed-care and reimbursement administration. Owners should be community-minded and comfortable being the face of a local healthcare business. The model suits pharmacists buying a first store as well as established independent owners who want franchise support while keeping their local identity through co-branding.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    The Medicine Shoppe's credibility rests on longevity and parentage: the brand has franchised pharmacies for more than 50 years, was the largest US retail pharmacy franchisor at the time of its 1995 acquisition by Cardinal Health, and operates today under a parent ranked in the top 25 of the Fortune 500. MSI also recognizes franchisee excellence through awards presented at Cardinal Health's Retail Business Conference. For resale buyers, brand-level credibility should be weighed alongside the specific pharmacy's local reputation, reviews and prescriber referral relationships.

  4. Industry / Market

    Independent community pharmacy is a substantial US market: roughly 19,000 independent pharmacies operated nationwide in 2024, representing a $103 billion marketplace according to the NCPA Digest. Demand is needs-based and recurring, driven by an aging population, chronic-condition prescription volumes and the expansion of clinical services such as immunizations and point-of-care testing. Many independents serve smaller communities that larger chains have retreated from. For resale buyers, prescription demand tends to hold across economic cycles, which makes an established script file a durable asset.

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