Backed by its existing investors, Mumbai-based PharmEasy has so far raised over $650 million since April 2021. With this, it is now on its way to acquire the diagnostic chain Thyrocare. What is interesting to note is that while PharmEasy is merely a six-year-old company, Thyrocare, on the other hand, has been around for over 25 years. However, Siddharth Shah, CEO of PharmEasy, cites the foundation of five co-founders for the same. “There is a ton of implicit trust that we have on each other,” he added.

Genesis of PharmEasy

The journey of what is today a leading online medical platform in India started in 2015 when two young Mumbaikars – Dharmil Seth, an alumnus of IMT Ghaziabad, and Dr. Dhaval Shah, an MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, decided to embark on a journey for actualizing their dream – of bringing together patients, pharmacies and diagnostic centers on one platform.

There still looms a huge gap in India’s healthcare system – whether it is in terms of affordability or accessibility. Thus, the two Mumbaikars envisioned the creation of an efficient doorstep medical service at slashed prices. Finally, in 2015, PharmEasy was launched. Since then, its B2B business has grown manifold. In 2019, PharmEasy merged with Ascent Health, to form API Holdings, which brought three new co-founders on board – Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Harsh Parekh.

API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an IPO, raising Rs 6,250 crores via fresh equity issuance. Aiming to price the IPO at a 25 percent discount than the private markets, the required fund will help to pursue inorganic growth through acquisitions, repay the outstanding debt of Rs 1,929 crore, fund organic growth initiatives of around Rs 1,259 crore, and other general corporate purposes.

USP of PharmEasy

The convenience and ease at which users can have medicines delivered to their doorsteps are what makes PharmEasy a very unique platform compared to others in the market. All they need to do is upload a prescription and place an order. Patients also have access to their personal medicine vault that enables them to make instant purchases for ongoing medication. Such bespoke services and features led PharmEasy to increasingly expand its services pan-India.

In fact, it recently entered the unicorn club in April 2021 and became the first Indian e-pharmacy to secure its spot on the much-coveted list. Its B2B pharma distribution business connects over a whopping 100,000 retailers to around 4,500 distributors. Furthermore, PharmEasy is also looking to expand its diagnostic business which has witnessed a massive surge in the past year.

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