An emerging sector in the online business sector is online drug stores which have risen to popularity as a platform catering to the diverse medical needs of the population. Today e-pharmacies are not just a digital channel to source affordable medications, their diverse offerings are in the form of consultations and diagnostics, elevating themselves to a comprehensive one-stop platform. Devashish Singh, CEO and Co-founder, MrMed reveals more
By Sonali Patranabish
The online pharmacy market has seen exponential growth in India over the last few years. What has spurred the significant growth of e-pharmacies in India?
Like several technology-enabled businesses, the growth of e-pharmacies can be attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic, when e-commerce, e-learning, and many other sectors rose exponentially. The companies that were able to win over customers with strong service delivery have continued to do well. The ones that just rode the initial wave and offered massive discounts with negative unit economics are the ones that are struggling right now.
E-pharmacies, like MrMed, have bridged that gap, making life-saving medicines accessible to everyone, regardless of location. The pandemic has accelerated this shift, but beyond that, the trust that patients have placed in online platforms for genuine, affordable, and timely medicines has indeed spurred this rise.
E-pharmacies offer payment convenience, accessibility, availability of all medicines, and other technology features like prescription refill reminders. These offerings and genuine medications delivered at home have resonated quite well with patients who buy medicines monthly. Patients, especially those in remote areas, now have access to life-saving drugs that were unavailable locally.
What has been the USP at MrMed given that the e-pharmacy space is a highly competitive market?
Our unique selling point is that we always put patients first. MrMed focuses on providing critical, life-saving medicines for conditions like cancer, HIV, and other complex diseases. We understand that patients or caregivers are often vulnerable when they reach out to us. What sets us apart is the medicines we provide and the care, compassion, and support we offer.
MrMed’s commitment to affordability, through discounts and patient assistance programs (PAPs), ensures that patients don’t have to choose between their health and finances. We reduce the price burden on treatments by significant margins, sometimes saving patients lakhs of rupees annually. This patient-first approach and our commitment to providing only authentic and safe medicines make us a trusted partner in their healthcare journey.
In light of the evolving digital healthcare landscape, how do you view the growth of online pharmacies in India in future? How do you foresee this sector evolving over the next few years and what new offerings and features can consumers expect?
The future of online pharmacies is promising, especially as we continue to integrate digital healthcare solutions into patients' daily lives. I believe the sector will evolve to offer more holistic healthcare services, where platforms like MrMed don’t just provide medicines but become a one-stop solution for consultations, diagnostics, and disease management.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-pharmacies offer payment convenience, accessibility, availability of all medicines, and other technology features like prescription refill reminders. These offerings and genuine medications delivered at home have resonated quite well with patients who buy medicines monthly. Patients, especially those in remote areas, now have access to life-saving drugs that were unavailable locally.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ambiguity around legislative policies and lack of a regulatory framework leaves e-pharmacies grappling in the dark. How are online pharmacies like MrMed navigating these uncertainties and the on-going legal battles with retail pharmacies?
Our primary focus remains patient care while strictly adhering to the law. Our team ensures that medication is dispensed in complete compliance with prescription guidelines so patient safety is never at risk. We continuously provide data to relevant drug departments and conduct internal process audits to ensure that ethics are never compromised.
We also stay proactive, engaging with industry experts and policymakers to push for clearer, patient-friendly regulations. This commitment to ethics and patient care has allowed us to adapt and continue serving despite the uncertainties in regulatory frameworks.
Qualms around the sale of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines continue to haunt the e-pharmacy segment. What is the online pharmacy space doing to garner faith and support in its consumers?
Counterfeit medicines are a severe threat, affecting patient health and eroding trust in the healthcare system. At MrMed, we take this challenge head-on by ensuring that every medicine we deliver is 100 per cent genuine, sourced only from licensed manufacturers and verified distributors. We follow strict quality checks, especially during inventory inward and packaging. We also actively educate our customers on the risks associated with counterfeit medicines so they can make informed choices.
Transparency and a secure supply chain are central to everything we do. This approach has helped us earn and retain our customers’ trust.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, through fair pricing and aggregation of supply and demand, we can offer an average discount of 38 per cent while maintaining gross margins of 20 per cent. Startup business models always look towards scale to achieve profitability, which will come at an EBITDA level, too—competition, when healthy, benefits patients by providing them with more options and better services.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the wake of the DPDP act being extended to e-pharmacies, How do you safeguard the health data privacy of the end users, given that patient safety becomes questionable and risky over a virtual platform?
Ans: Patient privacy is non-negotiable for us at MrMed. We have implemented strict data protection policies in line with the DPDP Act, ensuring that every piece of health information is handled with the utmost care and security. From data encryption to secure storage and access control, we take every step necessary to protect patient information.
Additionally, we educate our customers about their rights and how we safeguard their privacy. MrMed has even ensured that systems are HIPAA compliant.
The status of e-pharmacies in India is looming under a cloud of uncertainties with news of the centre banning and wiping out e-pharmacies from the face of the healthcare segment in India due to sale of drugs without prescriptions and violating norms. What are the online pharmacy aggregators doing about this? What are your operating principles at MrMed?
At MrMed, we strictly adhere to all regulatory norms, including dispensing only with valid prescriptions. The solution lies in refining the regulatory framework, not shutting down a critical service many patients depend on. We actively engage with policymakers to help shape a future where e-pharmacies can operate transparently and ethically, ensuring that patient care remains at the forefront.
Oligopoly in the e-pharmacy segment in India is a serious concern, which has led to concerns over predatory pricing. How are other players like MrMed dealing with these apprehensions and upheavals? Can the Draft digital competition bill help address these concerns of skewed competition in the e-pharmacy domain in India?
Oligopoly and predatory pricing concerns are valid in the pharmacy space and every industry. There are brick-and-mortar chains that offer huge discounts to customers, too. We must remember that MrMed started with just two of us in a 1,500-square-foot office and carved out a small niche within the more significant sector.
MrMed does not compete with brick-and-mortar pharmacies, as our focus is not on fast-moving medicines or healthcare products available in the country's lakhs of pharmacies.
We focus on the drugs that are not available.
It is unethical for inventory-led or marketplace companies to discount to the level wherein unit economics could be more favourable, where loss is more significant than revenue. From day one, we consistently generated a positive gross margin and will continue improving. Today, through fair pricing and aggregation of supply and demand, we can offer an average discount of 38 per cent while maintaining gross margins of 20 per cent. Startup business models always look towards scale to achieve profitability, which will come at an EBITDA level, too—competition, when healthy, benefits patients by providing them with more options and better services.