Indian startup that recommends cheap drug alternatives gets $6M funding, rebrands itself

Gurgaon-based drug e-store HealthKartPlus (now 1mg) has raised US$6 million in fresh funding. The investors include MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra, Omidyar Network, Intel Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Kae Capital.

The startup allows users to search for drugs and get information on dosage, common uses, and warnings. It finds the generic drug equivalents for commonly prescribed brand-name drugs and compares the costs of each. The site provides users details on the ingredients and also necessary precautions for before and after its use. It sells drugs too.

The company earlier nabbed an undisclosed amount in series B funding led by Intel Capital, with participation from existing investor Sequoia Capital. Previously, it had received US$4.5 million in series A funding and US$1 million in seed funding.

The parent firm Aquamarine Healthcare Private Limited’s first e-store was Healthkart. It sells health-related products like fitness equipment and nutrition supplements. With the funding, HealthKartPlus will run under a separate entity called Bright Lifecare Private Limited. It has also re-branded itself as “1mg”.

Now, both the e-stores work under different parent firms.

The two-year-old e-store has a database of over 100,000 medicines. It is currently operational in Delhi NCR, Bangalore, and Bhubaneswar and is looking to rapidly expand to more cities with fresh funding.

The company has also launched a fitness app ‘Fitup’ to tap into the protein supplement space. It has added a drug interaction feature that allows users to find cheap substitutes for expensive medicines and alerts the user if there is a danger in consuming two drugs together.

“We want to make healthcare understandable, accessible, and affordable for the Indian consumers through its unique features,” says the startup’s founder Prashant Tandon.

Almost every aspect of life is impacted by technology and it was only a matter of time before the internet-immune health care sector discovered its benefits. Even though these benefits include saving money without adversely affecting your health, it will be a while before every patient in India embraces its power. But for those who want to cut their teeth, 1mg is a promising start.