Pakistani Healthtech Platform MEDZnMORE Raises $11.5M Pre-Series A
The Karachi-based startup will look to expands its team and push its services to a population of 220 million.
Conceived as a B2X pharma delivery platform that looks to simplify the purchase of medicines and wellness products, Pakistani healthtech, MEDZnMore has announced the raise of an $11.5 million Pre-Series A round. Led by Integra Partners, Nunc Gestion, Sturgeon Capital and Alta Semper, the investment also included participation from AlTouq Group, ACE & Company, Key Family Partners, Reflect Ventures, Atlas Asset Management and a handful angel investors.
Founded in 2020 Asad Khan, Saad Khawar and Babar Lakhani, the Karachi-based startup looks to tackle the 25%-40% of medicines that are either conuterfit or lost efficacy, improving the availability and ease of access to medicines across Pakistan. The startup works with pharmas and other authorised distributors to keep prices competitive and offer same or next-day delivery.
“Constantly having to play catch-up with ever-increasing consumer demand has kept us humble and on our toes, and our journey has only just begun,” said co-founder Saad Khawar. “We’re spending most of our energies on building scalable technology that can handle the complexities that come with a cold chain enabled Pharma supply chain and, getting together a world-class team that is passionate about reshaping healthcare in this country.”
Like many other sectors, the pandemic triggered a surge in the healthcare industry, and while the numbers are far from mind blowing, they do indicate an unquestionable rise. In Q1’22, $5 million has been poured into the sector, which is the same as the total investments in 2020, despite that figure being owed to Find My Doctor’s round. Over the past two years, the sector raised just over $10 million, though the MENA region’s numbers bode well for a Pakistan that share so many of the same challenges and opportunities, with the likes of Altibbi raising an impressive $50 million Series B in March.
“In a market of over 220m people, where public healthcare spending is only 1.2% of the GDP, and where 55% of all healthcare spending is out-of-pocket, people generally rely on medicines to alleviate their suffering, rather than spend on prohibitively expensive medical procedures,” said co-founder Asad Khan, who also serves as the CEO. “Ensuring the accessibility of affordable and authentic medicines is essential. At MEDZnMORE our aim is to make health and wellness products available in all corners of the country.”
With the new capital, the startup will look to expand its team as it looks to push its services across the country, making products easily available for all.
