PharmEasy buys Medlife to become India's largest medicine delivery platform

E-pharmacy startup Pharmeasy said Tuesday it has acquired peer Medlife for an undisclosed amount in a deal that skyrockets its position to number one as India's largest medicine delivery platform.

Pharmeasy will absorb Medlife's existing customers as per the deal, the startup said. To set up their new accounts, Medlife's existing users will have to log in on PharmEasy's app using the same mobile number they were using on the older platform. That will pull up all digitised prescriptions and saved addresses dating back to a year on the new platform.

Medlife will discontinue operations from May 25, 2021, and its existing retail partners will be swiftly onboarded onto PharmEasy's platform, the startup added.

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"We started with the sole purpose of making affordable healthcare accessible to all in 2015. PharmEasy has now covered every single pin code across the country. With this, we aim to reach even more people pan-India and cater to their healthcare needs," Dr Dhaval Shah, Co-founder of the Mumbai-headquartered startup, said in a post on LinkedIn.

He added that with the acquisition, the startup will be able to service over two million families every month, making it the "largest healthcare delivery platform across the country by a distance."

The e-pharmacy space has seen a sharp rise in competition over the last couple of years, especially from the ecommerce space, spurred by a spike in online shopping demand. Hoping to capture and convert new users who shop online for medicines, ecommerce players, and bigwigs like Tata are looking to make strategic acquisitions and stake-buys in the space.

Tata Group has reportedly signed a definitive agreement to buy nearly 65 percent in 1MG, valuing it around Rs 1,200 crore, ET Now reported earlier this month, citing sources. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, in September last year, had picked up a 60 percent stake in Netmeds for around Rs 620 crore.