Indian Online Pharmacy 1mg Secures ₹6.537 Billion in Series D Funding, Expands from E-Commerce to Offline Diagnostics and Files Draft Red Herring Prospectus

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) recently learned that Indian online pharmacy company 1mg has completed a Series D financing round of INR 6.537 billion (approximately USD 10.32 million). The lead investor was the South Korean healthcare fund Redwood Global Healthcare Fund, which subscribed to INR 4.972 billion (approximately USD 7.2 million). Co-investors included venture capital firms PinPoint Venture and Kae Capital. Reportedly, 1mg plans to raise a larger subsequent round of financing, estimated at around USD 60 million.

Since its establishment in 2012, 1mg has raised over $90 million in funding.

In April 2015, the company raised $6 million in Series A financing, led by Sequoia Capital India;

In April 2016, the company secured a $29.8 million Series B financing round, with investors including Maverick Ventures and others;

In July 2017, the company raised $37.2 million in Series C financing, led by HBM Healthcare Investments AG;

In March 2018, the company raised $10.1 million in its Series C+ financing round, with Maverick Ventures as the investor.

 1mg’s Financing History (Source: Crunchbase; compiled by VCBeat)

Furthermore, documents disclosed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India last month revealed that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank, also made an investment in 1mg, although specific details of the transaction were not publicly disclosed.

Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, 1mg—formerly known as Healthkart Plus—was co-founded by Prashant Tandon, Vikas Chauhan, and Gaurav Agarwal. The company aims to help customers order medications and medical supplies online. Users can consult doctors through its website and mobile app, as well as book home sample collection and diagnostic services. 1mg claims that its website has 8 million monthly active users. In the 2017–2018 fiscal year, online pharmaceutical sales accounted for 60% of the company’s revenue, while its operating revenue grew eightfold to reach ₹8.58 billion.

Online medicine ordering offers both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. A doctor’s prescription is required to purchase prescription medications. In response to intense market competition, 1mg has newly launched a home sample collection service. Patients can apply via the mobile app, after which professionals visit their homes to collect samples (currently limited to blood, urine, etc.). The samples are then sent to professional testing laboratories, and the reports are uploaded in real time to the user’s phone once testing is complete. The entire process takes no more than one day.

In terms of sales revenue, 1mg is the largest online pharmacy in India. However, competitors such as PharmEasy, Myra, and Netmeds have recently secured funding, indicating that competition in this market segment will intensify in the future.

In September 2018, online pharmacy NetMeds completed a $35 million Series C funding round led by the Southeast Asian conglomerate Daun Penh Cambodia Group. In the same month, PharmEasy, an online pharmacy headquartered in Mumbai, secured $50 million in financing from venture capital firm Eight Roads Ventures.

Pinpoint Ventures is a South Korea-headquartered venture capital hedge fund, established in 2017, with a focus on investing in innovative companies in the global healthcare sector.

Reference Link:

https://www.1mg.com/

https://www.vccircle.com/power-generation-firm-bajaj-energy-files-for-ipo

(Compiled by Yang Shaobo)