Pharmeasy raises venture debt of Rs 40 Cr led by InnoVen Capital

Mumbai-based online pharmacy startup Pharmeasy has raised venture debt funding of Rs 40 crore led by the debt capital investor InnoVen Capital. Earlier this year, the team had raised funding led by Bessmer Venture Partners, MEMG (Manipal Group), Orios Venture Partners, JM Financials and Trifecta Capital.

Last year, PharmEasy had raised Series B funding of $16 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Orios Venture Partners. PharmEasy has set up a technology team in Mumbai and Bengaluru and intends to scale both.

Speaking to YourStory, co-founder Pharmeasy Dhaval Shah said that the funding will be used for inventory and working capital for the partner network across its metro and Tier II cities. 

“Today, we deliver across India and our focus is in ensuring that all partners across different cities get an understanding of how the space works,” says Dhaval. 

Started in 2015 with a vision to deliver genuine medicines at affordable rates by optimising the supply chain and logistics. The venture has grown from five people working out of the spare office space of the parent of one of the co-founders to a 300-member team spread across seven cities.

While the team refused to share the revenue details, Dhaval says that they are seeing a year-on-year revenue growth of 250 to 300 percent. The month-on-month growth is close to 30 percent.

The company has created an integrated platform with the vision to be a one-stop shop for all the healthcare needs of a consumer. They currently offer a range of services including medicine delivery, teleconsultation, sample collection for diagnostic tests as well as subscription-based service, which is currently live in a few cities. 

The company operates on a full-stack model whereby they procure medicines directly from the manufacturers and deliver it to the customers at their doorstep.

Commenting on the investment, Tarana Lalwani, Director, InnoVen Capital India, said, “We like the e-pharmacy space and are excited to partner with Pharmeasy, the leading player in the country. Our debt investment coupled with facilitating working capital from our partner banks will provide the company an optimal capital structure as they scale and expand.” 

The pharma industry is currently pegged at $15 billion, and some of the issues that the sector faces include low fill-rates, delivery delays, and expired and spurious medicines. Despite the regulatory challenges, the pharma space is growing significantly. The other main players in the space include Matrix Partners-backed Myra, Sequoia-backed Practo and 1mg.