Retail pharmacy chains pull back from clinical trials after post-COVID expansion
Retail pharmacy chains that expanded into clinical trials after COVID have since slowed or pulled back. CVS said it would exit by the end of 2024, Walmart shut its health clinics in 2024, and Walgreens has not commented formally on its business status.
Major retail pharmacy chains that moved to turn stores and clinics into clinical trial sites after COVID have since slowed, wound down or reassessed those efforts. CVS announced in 2023 it would wind down its clinical trial services unit and exit the space entirely by the end of 2024, while Walmart shut down its Walmart Health clinics in 2024, removing the clinical infrastructure that had been central to its research ambitions.
For a brief moment, retail pharmacies looked like an obvious solution to one of the industry’s biggest problems: recruitment. Walgreens Boots Alliance, CVS Health, Walmart, and Kroger all made moves to turn that idea into something operational, using thousands of storefronts, built-in patient traffic, pharmacists’ trusted relationships with their communities, and real-world data collection.
Walgreens launched its clinical trials business in 2022, positioning its retail footprint as a way to improve access, diversity, and decentralized trial sites. On August 28, 2025, Walgreens was acquired by Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm that took the retailer private. Nearly six months later, five Walgreens employees were still speaking in four different sessions at SCOPE about patient engagement, RWE, and how retail pharmacies can improve access to clinical trials, and the company’s website remained live.
When asked about the status of the business, Walgreens said it would not be granting formal interviews or formal communications on the status of the business at this time. The company still presents its clinical trials business as active and growing.
CVS launched CVS Clinical Trial Services in 2021 with a similar model built around retail locations and MinuteClinics. Walmart launched the Walmart Healthcare Research Institute in 2022, tying clinical research to its broader push into primary care through Walmart Health. Kroger announced its clinical trial site network in 2023, leveraging pharmacies and The Little Clinic locations to recruit and enroll patients, and it launched a real study.
Kroger’s current messaging suggests it is still working toward broader in-store trial capabilities. The pattern across the sector has raised questions about the viability of leveraging nationwide pharmacy chains to expand access to clinical trials.