SwipeRx (formerly mClinica Pharmacy Solutions), a Singapore-based platform for pharmacies, announced Monday it has secured a Series B round of $27 million in equity and debt to accelerate growth across southeast asia (SEA).
The round was led by Indonesia’s MDI Ventures, with participation from global investors, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, SIG and existing investors, SwipeRx said in a statement.
The latest funds will be used to further accelerate SwipeRx growth across Southeast Asia with a focus on Indonesia. They will be deployed towards scaling network of pharmacies, expanding logistics network for B2B e-commerce, accelerating technological innovation and recruiting talent across the region.
The firm has recently rebranded to SwipeRx, the name of its flagship app. To-date, it has acquired more than 235,000 pharmacy professionals and 45,000 pharmacies across the region by providing its users with the digital tools and information they need to better serve patients and manage their pharmacies. The firm works with multinational pharmaceutical companies, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) connecting the entire pharmaceutical ecosystem.
With a strong presence across Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, SwipeRx is ready to grow its network of pharmacies, expand their specialised healthcare logistics to fulfil business to business (B2B) commerce, accelerate technological innovation and recruit talent across SEA.
“Our growth as a company has been exponential and the past years have allowed us to further our vision to build the largest pharmacy network in the region. This round of funding reaffirms our commitment to disrupt this deeply fragmented industry while improving public health by supporting the pharmacy channel. We are excited to hold the pole position in this region as a platform that has transformed and digitised the pharmacy industry, and become their one-stop platform to perform all their daily tasks from education to purchasing to inventory financing,” said Farouk Meralli, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SwipeRx.
SwipeRx is founded by Farouk Meralli, a veteran within the public health sector and pharmaceutical industry. Leveraging his deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, SwipeRx has grown to become the leading application for pharmacies in Southeast Asia and has established the largest digital community for pharmacy professionals with an all-in-one B2B commerce capability.
In Indonesia alone, more than 8,000 retail pharmacies, amounting to a quarter of all pharmacies in the country, are on SwipeRx with over 5,000 of them joining its digital purchasing network and transacting on its B2B platform.
Since its inception, the firm identified that pharmacies were largely fragmented, mom-and-pop shops operating in silos and had yet to digitise. It innovated the community-driven commerce model and focused on building the largest digital community of pharmacy professionals by connecting these once fragmented pharmacies on a common digital platform. Through this, its network of pharmacies gained access to online education, drug information and were provided with a forum to communicate with one another.
Once connected as a community, SwipeRx enrolled its members in the largest digital purchasing network – enabling small pharmacies to benefit from scale while drastically improving the availability and affordability of medicines and even providing financing options to these small businesses.
“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. SwipeRx has the largest retail purchasing network, national logistics capabilities, financing options and fully integrated B2B stack for pharmacies to leverage. We, at MDI Ventures, are excited to be a part of SwipeRx’s next phase of growth as it looks to achieve greater heights in Indonesia and the region,” said Donald Wihardja, Chief Executive Officer, MDI Ventures.
SwipeRx sees vast opportunities to expand its community and commerce solutions for pharmacies across SEA and build on its lead in its key markets. With a strong team of over 400 employees, SwipeRx is poised to grow and scale across SEA.