PharmEasy

PharmEasy is an Indian multinational e-pharmacy company that sells medicines, diagnostics and telehealth online.[3]

PharmEasy
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2015 (2015)
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
,
India
Number of locations
1000+ cities in India (2021)[1]
Area served
India
ServicesMedicine delivery
Healthcare services
RevenueIncrease ₹5,729 crore (US$720 million) (FY22)[2]
Negative increase ₹−2,731 crore (US$−340 million) (FY22)[2]
Websitewww.pharmeasy.in

History

The company was founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah in Mumbai with the initial seed funding provided by their parents.[4] The company wanted to expand beyond the Mumbai market and received their Series A funding.

In May 2021, PharmEasy acquired rival e-pharmacy company Medlife for an undisclosed amount.[5] In June 2021, the company acquired a 66.1% stake in diagnostics chain Thyrocare for ₹4,546 crore (US$613.5 million).[6][7] In September 2021, it acquired a majority stake in Aknamed, a healthcare supply chain company.[8]

In November 2021, the company filed papers to launch its initial public offering (IPO) of ₹6,250 crore (US$843.46 million).[9] The company withdrew its IPO plans in August 2022.[10]

Competition

PharmEasy competes with other e-pharmacy companies including Netmeds (which was acquired by Reliance Industries), 1mg (acquired by Tata Group), Apollo 24x7 and Amazon Pharmacy.[11] The Ken questioned the company's positioning as a unified healthtech player and referred to the company's story as "more confusing than convincing".[12]

Criticism

Medlife–PharmEasy merger protests

In 2020, the two organizations were in merger talks which came to the attention of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) who were required to approve of the merger. The merger was protested by The South Chemist and Distributors Association (SCDA) who objected that such a merger should to be rejected as sales of medicines online was illegal in India. The online sales of medicines was later regulated and the merger was completed in 2021.[13][14]

PharmEasy advertisement

Members of the Hindu religion criticized one of the company's advertisements and said that religious sentiments were hurt for the sake of marketing and sales. The advertisement in question showed Lakshman being struck and Ram needing Sanjeevani and asking who will bring Sanjeevani from such a long distance. Two staff members of PharmEasy come on a scooter and delivers the medicine.[15]

References
  1. "PharmEasy official site". Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. "PharmEasy FY22 loss widens to Rs 2,700 cr as employee costs surge five-fold". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ""Built A Strong Backend Before A Good Frontend"". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. Datta, PT Jyothi (August 2021). "The charge of the young brigade from PharmEasy". @businessline. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  5. "PharmEasy acquires Medlife, becomes India's largest e-pharma company". Business Standard. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  6. "PharmEasy: A tryout's journey through tests to the Thyrocare takeover". cnbctv18.com. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  7. "PharmEasy buys out Thyrocare for ₹4,546 cr". The Hindu Businessline. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  8. "PharmEasy buys majority stake in healthcare supply chain start-up Aknamed". Business Standard. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  9. Mudgill, Amit (10 November 2021). "PharmEasy parent API Holdings files draft papers for Rs 6,250 crore IPO". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  10. "PharmEasy parent recalls draft IPO papers, weighs rights issue to raise funds". Moneycontrol. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  11. "PharmEasy-Medlife Merger May Hit CCI Hurdle As Chemist Association Protests". Inc42 Media. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  12. "PharmEasy's theory of healthtech: Unified or confused?". The Ken. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  13. John Sarkar (26 May 2021). "Pharmeasy Medlife acquisition: PharmEasy buys Medlife, to be no. 1 e-health entity | India Business News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  14. "What Went Wrong At PharmEasy And Can It Find A Cure?". Forbes India. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  15. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "2019 in review: When brands courted controversy on social media - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
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