A digital transformation is currently underway in the pharmacy industry, as providers seek solutions to cope with fluctuating supply chains, rising operating costs, a shortage of skilled workers, and the estimated closure of 3000 high street pharmacies by 2024.
At this point in time, Phlo, a Scottish digital pharmacy tech startup that offers patients same-day medication delivery has snapped £10 million in Series A funding. The investment round was led by the family office Thairm Bio, a Trust that invests in early-stage life science companies, which backed PneumoWave.
This investment round is a combination of equity investment and the conversion of existing loan notes. It follows the £2 million round raised by Phlo in 2020, which marked the third largest healthtech Crowdfunding campaign in Europe.
The company will use the fresh funds to expand the reach of Phlo Digital Pharmacy, the first UK digital pharmacy to offer patients same-day medication delivery, and to scale Phlo Connect, the market-leading digital infrastructure platform for healthcare providers.
Furthermore, the investment will support the scaleup of Phlo’s operations and its partnerships with healthcare providers. It will help the company enable more clinicians and patients to access the benefits of digitised pharmacy services.
Nadeem Sarwar, Founder and CEO of Phlo, commented, “This round of investment is particularly crucial in helping us scale our offering and realising our vision of establishing Phlo as the market leader in the delivery of next-generation digital pharmacy services right across the UK. We have a very busy roadmap ahead and some incredibly exciting opportunities to take advantage of in 2023 and beyond”.
Mark Bamforth, Founder of Thairm Bio, commented, “Thairm Bio is delighted to lead this investment round, in partnership with a dedicated group of investors, and to support Phlo in their continued expansion across the UK.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said, “Phlo is a fantastic example of a growing innovative company that is helping patients and healthcare providers through its technology. With Scottish Enterprise investment, the company can scale up operations and expand its services into new markets.”
Digitisation of patient care and pharmacy
Founded by entrepreneur Nadeem Sarwar in 2019 and headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, Phlo has a team of over 70. It is at the forefront of innovation and product development in the UK pharmacy sector.
Similar to Deliveroo, Phlo is a digital pharmacy that provides secure, real-time, same-day delivery of NHS and private prescriptions when and where you need them.
The company’s flagship product, Digital Pharmacy, offers same-day NHS and private prescription delivery services in Birmingham and London. As of this year, it is launching in Manchester. It has delivered over 110,000 orders since the platform was launched in 2020 and users are more than doubling each year.
The company’s second product, Phlo Connect, provides a seamless, complete digital pharmacy service that healthtech companies and private healthcare providers can use. Their existing partners include Babylon, Leva Clinic, SkinDoc, Syrona Health, and The Dermatology Partnership.
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