Swiss family office Corisol leads $70 mn funding round in e-pharmacy 1mg

Gurugram-based e-pharmacy 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd has raised $70 million (Rs 482.7 crore at current exchange rates) in a funding round led by Swiss family office Corisol Holding AG. World Bank investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of venture capital firms from South Korea led by Redwood Global and Korea Omega Healthcare Fund participated in this round. 

Existing investors who were also part of the round included Sequoia Capital, Maverick Ventures, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omidyar Network and Kae Capital, the company said in a statement.

In January this year, TechCircle had reported that Corisol was leading a $35.3 million round in 1mg, citing the company’s filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It could not be immediately ascertained whether the latest $70 million round is part of the round that was reported earlier. Specific queries in this regard to 1mg did not elicit responses at the time of publishing this report.

The fresh funding will be invested in accelerating growth, improving supply chain and further developing healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, the company said. It will spend funds in personalising care management programmes and expanding its ecosystem partnerships (hospitals, insurance, pharma and government bodies) to launch care delivery models, both online and offline.

“1mg’s commitment to integrated services, backed by their technology and strong unit economics, has helped them achieve remarkable growth to become India’s largest digital health platform,” Vanessa C Frey, chief executive of Corisol Holding AG, said in the statement.

Corisol is the largest shareholder in Zur Rose, Europe's largest e-commerce pharmacy.

Founded in 2011 by Prashant Tandon, Vikas Chauhan and Gaurav Agarwal, the online pharmacy, which was previously known as HealthKart Plus, allows customers to order medicines, consult doctors and purchase health products on its website and via its app. Users can also book diagnostic services and lab tests.

The platform claims that more than 70 million unique users accessed the platform for its various services last year.

1mg has offline operations with pharmaceutical distribution and lab logistics services. With its ecosystem partnerships, the omni-channel platform provides cashless service deliveries to health insurance companies and smart hospital concepts in northern India.

Tandon co-founded online health product platform Healthkart, from which 1mg was hived off in 2015. Last month, HealthKart raised $25 million in a fresh round of funding from Belgium-based investment group Sofina SA.

For the financial year 2017-18, 1mg’s operating revenue surged eight-fold while losses widened three-fold.

Deals in the segment

May 2019: Bengaluru-based Medlife International Pvt. Ltd, a self-funded online platform that delivers medicines and offers other healthcare services, acquired online pharmacy app Myra Medicines. Myra had raised Rs 8.75 crore in additional capital led by existing investors -- venture capital firm Matrix Partners and Times Internet Ltd. Tokyo-based Dream Incubator also invested.

September 2018: Online pharmacy Netmeds Marketplace Ltd raised $35 million in a Series C funding round from Southeast Asian business conglomerate Daun Penh Cambodia Group.

September 2018: Mumbai-based 91 Streets Media Pvt. Ltd, which operates online drug delivery platform PharmEasy, raised $50 million (Rs 363 crore) in an extended Series C round led by new investor Eight Roads Ventures.