MedPlus to raise up to $75 million to fund expansion

Firm runs 1,240 pharma retail stores in 150 centres across 12 states; plans 10,000 stores in next 3-4 years

MedPlus Health Services, a Hyderabad-based drug retailing and pathology labs chain, is planning to raise anywhere between $50 million (around Rs 312 crore) and $75 million (Rs 468 crore) from private equity players to fuel its future expansion, according to its founder and chief executive officer Madhukar Gangadi.

“We have already started the process. And, it shouldn’t take more than six months to complete the fund-raising exercise,” he told mediapersons here on Friday.

The company, which has seen an investment of $30 million (Rs 187 crore) since its inception in 2006, currently operates over 1,240 pharma retail stores in more than 150 cities and towns across 12 states. It plans to deploy the fundraising proceeds to take the number of stores to 10,000 over the next three to four years, besides setting up large warehouses in multiple locations across the country.

Announcing the launch of ‘Click, pick and save’ pharmacy e-tailer service on www.medplusmart.com, Gangadi said the service was compliant to the current regulations on drug dispensing.

Under the new service, customers can log onto the portal, search and select the medicines (over 30,000 products) and FMCG products, or just scan and upload their prescription to the site, in which case a MedPlus representative will call and book the order.

“As the current government regulations do not allow medicines to be delivered to buyers’ homes, customers can pick up their order from their nearest MedPlus store within six hours of placing an order,” he said, adding that the service was initially being launched in 220 locations in Hyderabad, and would be rolled out in the 12 states where MedPlus has presence in the short-term.

Claiming that MedPlus currently enjoys a 30 per share of the Rs 4,000-crore organised pharma retail market in India, Gangadi said the company was aiming at cornering 25 per cent of the overall Rs 80,000-crore pharma retailing market in the next two to three years.

Replying to a query, Gangadi said the company’s private label medicines and FMCG products, which are outsourced from third-party manufacturers and sold under the MHS Pharma brand, currently accounted for five per cent of its overall revenues.