The multiple oversaw a test flight earlier this month in a move it claims makes it the first UK community pharmacy company to transport prescription-only medicines via drone.

It is “now assessing the future potential for drones in medicines delivery”, having teamed up with medical drone start up Apian, Boots said in a statement earlier this week (July 27).

In trialling drone deliveries, Boots is exploring how much time and money the technology could save in medicines deliveries, the multiple’s chief information officer Richard Corbridge commented.

The Isle of Wight seemed like a “sensible place” to test drive Boots’ first drone flight as it clearly demonstrated how the technology can be used to deliver medicines to remote locations, he added.

How did it work?

A drone carrying prescription medicines set off from the British Army’s Baker Barracks on Thorney Island near Portsmouth and successfully deposited its package at St. Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight.

Boots subsequently collected the medicines from the hospital and transported the items to its pharmacies across the island, ready to be dispensed to patients.

The largest kind of drone Boots could use in future drone deliveries weighs 85kg and can carry up to 20kg of medication.

Each would be flown by professional drone pilots based in at the British Army’s Baker Barracks.

The Civil Aviation Authority has granted Boots and Apian permission to fly the drones in segregated airspace between the barracks and St Mary’s Hospital’s helipad on the Isle of Wight, according to the multiple.

Apian’s chief operating officer Max Coppin pointed out that drones are “faster and more reliable than ground transportation” as well as being sustainable and environmentally friendly.