Singapore-headquartered digital pharmacy firm SwipeRx [formerly known as mClinica] has raised $27 million in equity and debt, in a Series B round led by Indonesia’s MDI Ventures.
Global investors Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures and Susquehanna International Group (SIG) also joined the round.
The firm recently underwent a rebranding from mClinica Pharmacy Solutions to SwipeRx, the name of its flagship app. It plans to use the fresh investment to boost growth in all markets, especially Indonesia, by adding more pharmacies to its network, expanding its healthcare logistics for business-to-business [B2B] commerce, enhancing tech capabilities and recruiting new team members.
SwipeRx was founded in 2012 by Farouk Meralli, who has extensive experience in the public health and pharmaceutical industry, including stints at Johnson & Johnson and Roche. SwipeRx connects pharmacy professionals with consumer healthcare companies, distributors and wholesalers to help manage their pharmacies better.
The platform also serves the digital pharmacy purchasing network through specialised and compliant healthcare logistics, negotiated pricing and financing solutions. Moreover, SwipeRx works with multinational pharmaceutical companies, governments and NGOs to provide them with the latest updates and protocols.
The firm has a presence in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. SwipeRx has acquired more than 235,000 pharmacy professionals and 45,000 pharmacies across the region so far.
In Indonesia, SwipeRx has worked with over 8,000 retail pharmacies, which make up about a quarter of all pharmacies in the country. Over 5,000 of them have joined its digital purchasing network and transacted on its B2B platform.
“This round of funding reaffirms our commitment to disrupt this deeply fragmented industry while improving public health by supporting the pharmacy channel,” said Meralli.
In 2017, SwipeRx had raised $6.3 million in a round led by Patamar Capital. The other investors in that round were 500 Global, Kickstart Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst.
“We see great potential and promise in SwipeRx’s platform as it strives to address the challenges faced by pharmacies, especially in Indonesia, by connecting different players–big and small–all under one platform,” said MDI Ventures CEO Donald Wihardja.
“SwipeRx has the largest retail purchasing network, national logistics capabilities, financing options and fully integrated B2B stack for pharmacies to leverage,” he added.
MDI Ventures recently teamed up with Indonesia’s state-owned Pharma company Bio Farma to launch a $50-million bio-health fund to invest in biotech startups. Besides SwipeRx, the VC firm has invested in several healthcare-related companies, including Heals and Alodokter.
