Online Pharmacy Netmeds Plans To Acquire Medicine Delivery Startup Pluss To Take On 1mg

Online pharmacy brand NetMeds is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Gurugram-based on-demand delivery startup for medicine, healthcare and wellness products, Pluss in an all stock deal. This move comes with a view to ante up against 1mg.

According to two people close to the development, the deal is expected to close in the next 15 days and Pluss’ existing investors are reportedly to acquire stake in Netmeds. They include IDG Ventures, M&S Partners, and Powerhouse Ventures. However, the details of the deal are still unclear.

Founded in 2015 by Gigstart founders – Atit Jain, Madhulika Pandey and Tarun Lawadia, Pluss is an on-demand medicine delivery service that facilitates placing orders through calls, Whatsapp or the Pluss website. In addition to delivering medicines, Pluss also offers baby care, pet care, personal wellness and daily essential products. Pluss manages delivery via its own fleet of delivery executives – ‘Pluss Men.’

In November 2015, it raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Series A round of funding led by IDG Ventures India, M&S partners, and Powerhouse Ventures. Prior to that, it had reportedly raised $200K as Seed funding from angel investors including Kunal Bahl and Anand Chandrasekaran among others.

In order to facilitate its delivery services, Pluss has tied up with local pharmacies. According to its website, users can upload the photo of their prescription on their app and place an order for medicines. Once the order gets confirmed, Pluss’ delivery executive goes and purchases the medicines and delivers it to the user’s address.

The startup currently provides its services in Delhi NCR and Hyderabad.

Chennai-based Netmeds was founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha. It is a licensed pharmacy marketplace that offers authenticated prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicine along with other health products. It is promoted by the Dadha family, which has been in the pharmaceutical business for over 100 years.

A user needs to upload their prescription which is carefully examined by the company’s pharmacists to assist with proper dosage, duration, and other points of validity ensuring the patient with the best possible outcome.

In October 2015, it raised $50 Mn led by OrbiMed, a healthcare-focussed investment firm. Users can order medicines through NetMeds’ mobile app as well available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Other players operating in this space include Medfinder, 1mg, Pharmeasy, MyMedisyn, Medist, and Mera Medicare.

This development was reported by ET.