GreenTree-Bergen Deal

GreenTree.com Inc., a closely held online health store, said it will start selling prescription drugs through a partnership with Orange-based Bergen Brunswig Corp., a pharmaceuticals wholesaler.

The GreenTree-Bergen alliance comes as a flurry of companies are moving into the online pharmacy business. CVS Corp., a Woonsocket, R.I., drugstore chain, this month bought Soma.com, a Seattle online pharmacy, for $30 million.

Some of Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists have bankrolled PlanetRx.com Inc., San Francisco, and Drugstore.com Inc., Seattle, two other online pharmacies.

On Monday, Bergen also announced plans to expand its distribution role to the Internet, providing the infrastructure for drugstores to sell online.

Financial terms of the GreenTree-Bergen alliance weren’t disclosed.

GreenTree said it will use a Bergen Brunswig warehouse in Kentucky to fill orders. It said it will offer 23,000 products online, which it asserted is more than any other online drugstore.