PharmEasy Launches 'Go Corona Go' Initiative to Empower Vaccine Takers

The COVID-19 vaccine is finally here and is now available to the senior citizens (above 60 years of age) and people above 45 years of age with co-morbidities in its second phase. Vaccinating this group of people is extremely critical at this stage and the government is doing a fantastic job in it. 

 
PharmEasy, India’s leading e-pharmacy brand, wanted to extend its support to the Government of India in its COVID vaccination drive. And thus, launched its campaign, ‘Go Corona Go Initiative’, where it will be offering a token of appreciation to every user who has got vaccinated. Basically, PharmEasy is on the lookout for SUPERHEROES who will help make India COVID-free. This will be a small step but will help accelerate the vaccination drive. 
 
With this campaign, PharmEasy wants to encourage more and more people to get vaccinated and keep themselves and people around them safe. For every vaccine taken by a citizen, PharmEasy would be giving a flat Rs 150 PharmEasy cash in the wallet to the users that can be used on their next medicine order.
 
Any individual who has opted for this vaccination can avail this benefit in 3 simple steps: 
Click here to register > Upload proof of vaccination (appointment email/certificate) > Get Rs 150 PharmEasy cash in PharmEasy wallet. This is going to be a month-long campaign. With this initiative, PharmEasy not only wants to celebrate the superheroes who have already taken the shot, but also intends to motivate others to do the same. 
 
Talking about this initiative, Dharmil Sheth, Co-founder of PharmEasy, said, “The government is doing a fantastic job in tackling the COVID-19 situation with its vaccination drive now in full swing. We thought that the ‘Go Corona Go’ Initiative would be our humble attempt to encourage the masses to get vaccinated.”
 
Adding to this, Dr. Dhaval Shah, Co-founder of PharmEasy said, “Presently, the second phase of vaccination has opened up for people over the age of 60, and the ones above 45 with co-morbidities. In our eyes, they are the real superheroes, who are bravely stepping out to get vaccinated and helping us put an end to the pandemic. A huge shout out to every vaccine taker out there. Together, we can beat COVID-19!"

Pulse Plus Pharmacy becomes the First e-Pharmacy Start-up to Turn Profitable

Pulse Plus Pvt Ltd, part of the Pasumai Pharmacy Group based in Coimbatore has organically scaled its digital medicine delivery platform to 10,000+ fulfilled orders in a month, post-pandemic. Launched just in June 2019, their Android app enjoys the highest rating among other medicine delivery platforms and has been the fastest-growing bootstrapped start-up to achieve this feat. The company partners with over 17 shipment partners to deliver the medicines nationwide to over 16,000 pin codes & generates the digital orders through its web platform & app.

 
Pulse has been profitable with the digital venture at the gross/net levels from its initial days of operation due to the hybrid omnichannel approach employed by the company. Leveraging the existing retail footprint to process the digital orders has helped them optimize the cost of order processing & eliminated the need to burn while controlling the quality.
  
About this, Mr Vishnu Prasath, Co-founder said, “We’re growing fast organically and are on our path to reach 1,000 orders a day within the next twelve months. We’re profitable both at the gross & net levels as a business. As more new customers start using our platform, we’ll naturally become the most preferred choice for the customers across South India where we offer the best delivery TAT’s. We expect to also grow inorganically with our B2B partnerships as we recently launched our API through which anyone can launch and sell medicines in a white-labeled way.”
 
With five solid decades of experience in pharmacy retail, Pasumai Pharmacy group has set its foot in the digital medicine delivery space & is on its way to compete with other major players. The group has been the first to set-up organized pharmacy outlets in Southern Tamil Nadu as early as 1999, offering the fastest turnaround, doorstep delivery to all the customers in the region. Unlike other online aggregators that source and dispatch medicines from different local vendors, products are dispatched from our fully owned and managed retail outlets ensuring quality & authenticity. They continue to enjoy a dominant position as a pharmacy retailer in Coimbatore, with over 10 lakh+ satisfied customers.
 
“After my 10 year stint in the United States managing product for Epic Systems(America’s largest healthcare IT provider), I returned back to India to take over my family business and bring about a change. I feel that, as a team - we are utilising the existing strengths of the business while modernizing every aspect of tech & crm associated,” said Mr Arun Karuppaiah, Co-founder.
  
Information about the company, its history & products offered by it can be found at www.pulseplus.in. The company aims to continue to grow steadily with its continued focus on building their back-end tech, website, app and add other allied services including lab tests, patient finance, health insurance, doctor consultations, etc in partnership with the best available partners. The company has built proprietary tech that automates the complete supply chain management from order placement to stock management that helps them effectively manage their stock/minimize overheads. This feat demonstrates that there’s opportunity in e-commerce for bootstrapped companies if one continues to focus on serving the customers & offer the highest quality standard.
 
https://www.pulseplus.in/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pulse.pulsepharmacy&hl=en_IN&gl=US
https://www.facebook.com/PulsePlusOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/pulsepharmacy/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1skZzsubUPJE7UXUxjxd0Q
 

Online Healthcare Marketplace SastaSundar Raises Rs 100 Cr from Mitsubishi Corp

Kolkata-based SastaSundar.com, an online medicine and healthcare products marketplace has raised Rs 100 crore ( ~ US$ 14 Mn) from Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation. The Japenese will pick up an undisclosed stake in the startup, reported Times of India.

According to Times of India report, the Mitsubishi investment in SastaSundar will give the Kolkata-based startup a valuation of over Rs 500 crore ( ~ US$ 70 Mn). SastaSundar Healthbuddy has a revenue of over Rs 220 crore. “The company would cross Rs 300crore mark in the next one-two years,” an official added.

The fresh funding is a part of the fund raised for expansion of SastaSundar and is after the recent investments of Rs 70.49 crore by Rohto Pharmaceuticals, Japan. In May 2017, the startup had raised $5 million in funding from Rohto Pharmaceutica, which too is based out of Japan and a 70-year-old pharmaceutical manufacturer headquartered in Osaka, Japan.

SastaSundar Ventures, a group holding firm, is the majority owner of the company with 83% stake, while Rohto has around 17% in SastaSundar.

Founded in 2013, by B L Mittal and Ravi Kant Sharma, SastaSundar is aiming to use the knowledge and best in class technology to reduce cost and to add convenience in making available medicine, healthcare products and other useful products with high quality.

Earlier this month, one of the main companies of Mitsubishi Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), acquired significant stakes in several Indian companies, including Dr Reddy's, Tech Mahindra, Tata Global Beverages, Godrej Consumer, Marico and Cyient through acquisition of entities that hold shares of the companies.

Netmeds Launches 1st Brick-and-Mortar Store in Karnataka

Online pharmacy Netmeds.com on Monday said it has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Karnataka's Belgaum with plans to launch 20 such stores across the state by 2020.

Netmeds Pharmacies will have access to over 50,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of prescription drugs for chronic and recurring ailments as well as thousands of non-prescription health, wellness and personal care products, Netmeds.com said in a statement.

"The launch of Netmeds Pharmacy in Belgaum is our first step towards building the foundation of a solid healthcare delivery network in Karnataka," Netmeds.com founder and CEO Pradeep Dadha said.

The offline store will benefit from a well-established supply-chain, supported by over 14 fulfilment centres across the country, while continuing to serve customers through company's online portal, he added. PTI AKT

Pharmeasy Raises $50 million in Series C Funding from Eight Roads Ventures India

Mumbai headquartered online healthcare and pharma aggregator Pharmeasy has raised $50 million (~ Rs.364 Crores) in Series C funding from Eight Roads Ventures India, the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International Ltd. The round is largest of all three rounds raised till date by the startup.

The other investors are F-Prime Capital, Nandan Nilakeni, Sanjeev Aggarwal-backed Fundamentum Partnership and San Francisco-based hedge fund Think Investments.

Existing investors BVP also participated in this round which was run by investment banking firm Avendus. With this round, the total fund raised by Pharmeasy stands at $75 million. Its earlier investors include BVP, Orios Venture Partners, Aarin Capital and MEMG.

Founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah, Pharmeasy connects patients to local pharmacies and diagnostic centres through an integrated online platform, making healthcare accessible and affordable across India via quick and efficient doorstep delivery and savings on their healthcare needs.

Pharmeasy will use the funds to expand the consumer base, improve the technology and expand into more cities. “The way we have grown in the last three years, more than 200% YOY is testament to the fact that affordable and accessible healthcare is very much possible,” the company’s founder, Dhaval Shah, said.

Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of Pharmeasy, said, “It has always been our aim to make healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone. And the new funding will only push us closer to achieving this goal, helping us change the healthcare ecosystem in the country. We plan to use this funds to strengthen our tech capabilities in operations and also in ensuring that we are able to provide personalised healthcare solutions to the consumers.’’

Pharmeasy provides e-consultation and at-home diagnostic tests, medicine dosage reminders and an automated medicine refill subscription service. It also specialises in chronic care segment, forming a significant part of its scope of services.

The startup is also working on industry wide issues which revolve around eliminating fake medicines from the system by scrupulously validating prescriptions and barcoding every drug in its inventory to establish their genuineness. Currently, the company is delivering affordable and authentic healthcare solutions to more than 22000 pin codes.

Just a few weeks back, Chennai-based NetMeds hasd too raised $35 million in Series C funding round, which was followed by acquisition of telemedicine app JustDoc.

In June, New Delhi-based healthcare technology startup Navia Life Care Pvt. had raised $100,000 in a a bridge round of funding from existing investor Benori Ventures and angel investors.

In May, Mumbai-based home healthcare services aggregator HealWell24 raised $200,000 in Pre-Series A round of funding from bunch of angel investors including Prashant Mehta, Mitali Pawar, Nikhil G and Bhavesh P, members of Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON), and R Ranganathan

Last November, Mumbai based Instinct Innovations has raised a seed round of funding led by Vida Ventures and Dr. Aniruddha Malpani for its artificial intelligence (AI) enabled Redbook platform.

Online Pharmacy Netmeds Acquires Telemedicine Portal JustDoc for Less than A Million

Chennai headquartered online pharmacy NetMeds has acquired Bangalore-based telemedicine portal JustDoc in a cash-and-stock deal. With this NetMeds has made the second acquisition as earlier the company had acquired hyperlocal drugs delivery startup Pluss, last year.

The company has not disclosed the JustDoc acquisition deal size however according to an Economic Times report, NetMeds is believed to have paid a little under $1 million to acquire three-year-old JustDoc.

The acquisition comes within a month after Netmeds had raised $35 million in Series C funding round led by from Daun Penh Cambodia Group .

Founded in 2015, by Abhishek Kumar, Jugal Anchalia and Vikash Singh, JustDoc is online doctor/medical consultation platforms that provide healthcare services via audio, video & chat.

Post acquisition, entire team of JustDoc, which is said to be only 8-10 members, will be absorbed by NetMeds.

The startup counts former Infosys senior executive TV Mohandas Pai, InMobi cofounder Mohit Saxena, TaxiForSure co-founder Raghunandan G as its angel investors and Singapore Angel Network and Tracxn Labs among its list of backers. All the investors of JustDoc, who had invested an undisclosed amount in Justdoc, are believed to be exiting the startup, post the closure of the deal.

Pradeep Dadha, founder & CEO of Netmeds, said, “The acquisition of JustDoc brings an extensive and experienced physicians’ network, which will be the perfect addition to our present range of products and services at this stage in our growth plan.”

Founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha, Netmeds provides prescription medicine and healthcare products to patients across India. Netmeds, which has raised a total of $99M in funding over three rounds, counts Sistema Asia Fund, a proprietary venture capital fund of Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC, Tanncam Investment, and OrbiMed, a healthcare-dedicated investment firm, as its investors.

“Netmeds will continue to expand the scope of its offerings to include diagnostics, lifestyle-related consulting and a patient ‘peer-to-peer’ social network channel. Adding end-to-end video consultation workflows can make the whole process of providing high quality and affordable healthcare services far more efficient,” Dadha said in a statement.

Source - Business Line

Online Pharmacy Netmeds Acquires Telemedicine Portal JustDoc for Less than A Million

Chennai headquartered online pharmacy NetMeds has acquired Bangalore-based telemedicine portal JustDoc in a cash-and-stock deal. With this NetMeds has made the second acquisition as earlier the company had acquired hyperlocal drugs delivery startup Pluss, last year.

The company has not disclosed the JustDoc acquisition deal size however according to an Economic Times report, NetMeds is believed to have paid a little under $1 million to acquire three-year-old JustDoc.

The acquisition comes within a month after Netmeds had raised $35 million in Series C funding round led by from Daun Penh Cambodia Group .

Founded in 2015, by Abhishek Kumar, Jugal Anchalia and Vikash Singh, JustDoc is online doctor/medical consultation platforms that provide healthcare services via audio, video & chat.

Post acquisition, entire team of JustDoc, which is said to be only 8-10 members, will be absorbed by NetMeds.

The startup counts former Infosys senior executive TV Mohandas Pai, InMobi cofounder Mohit Saxena, TaxiForSure co-founder Raghunandan G as its angel investors and Singapore Angel Network and Tracxn Labs among its list of backers. All the investors of JustDoc, who had invested an undisclosed amount in Justdoc, are believed to be exiting the startup, post the closure of the deal.

Pradeep Dadha, founder & CEO of Netmeds, said, “The acquisition of JustDoc brings an extensive and experienced physicians’ network, which will be the perfect addition to our present range of products and services at this stage in our growth plan.”

Founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha, Netmeds provides prescription medicine and healthcare products to patients across India. Netmeds, which has raised a total of $99M in funding over three rounds, counts Sistema Asia Fund, a proprietary venture capital fund of Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC, Tanncam Investment, and OrbiMed, a healthcare-dedicated investment firm, as its investors.

“Netmeds will continue to expand the scope of its offerings to include diagnostics, lifestyle-related consulting and a patient ‘peer-to-peer’ social network channel. Adding end-to-end video consultation workflows can make the whole process of providing high quality and affordable healthcare services far more efficient,” Dadha said in a statement.

Source - Business Line

Online Pharmacy Promoting Unregulated Drug Sale In India

According to a recent report by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the eCommerce boom in India has resulted in a significant rise in online pharmacies, which in return has led to an increased pharmaceutical drug use and their abuse.

NCB's annual report for 2015 revealed that the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs in India has increased to dangerously serious levels, with the situation in the northwest and northeast regions of the country much worse than rest of the country.

The report by the intelligence agency states that illegal Internet Pharmacy websites from Europe, USA etc. are flourishing like never before by providing unregulated trade in a number of prescription medicines over the online world. These websites have established a firm grip in the Indian subcontinent as suppliers.

The report further adds, these illegal online pharmacies are passing the orders from the customers to Indian agents, who then have the responsibility of procuring the medicines from either legal or illegal sources and then dispatch them to the paying customers through the means of courier and mail.

The volume of posts coming from abroad makes it almost impossible for the officials to manually check each and every parcel, thus allowing these illegal consignments to pass under the noses of the authorities completely undetected.

The NCB report also talks about how most of the Internet pharmacies are highly vulnerable and try keeping the organisers identity secret. But, in India, NCB in coordination with a number of other agencies isn't letting such illegal online pharmacies get away so easily and are successfully doing a high-profile bust almost every year.

Buprenorphine, codeine-based cough syrups, alprazolam, diazepam and a number of other sedatives are some of the most abused pharmaceutical products in India, according to the report. A majority of these above mentioned drugs are easily available in medical shops which makes it an important factor in encouraging their misuse.

The report also busts the perception that these pharmaceutical drugs are less harmful when compared to hard drugs like heroin, cocaine etc. Most of these pharmaceutical drugs are equally addictive as the hard drugs and can have adverse effect on one's health. It is important to know that any pharmaceutical having arcotic/psychotropic substances comes under the purview of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act and the NDPS Act in India.

IndianWeb2 feels that the NCB puts forth some startling facts and the concerned authorities need to take immediate actions, so that the youth of the country doesn't get caught up in this deadly cycle of drugs.

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