Technology

Posted on March 26, 2018 by staff

Pharmacy2U bags £40m to invest in tech

Technology

Pharmacy2U has secured a further £40m investment to support the growth of its technology-driven NHS repeat prescription service.

The funding round is led by London-based private equity firm G Square and also included investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), which has backed the Leeds-based business since 2016.

Pharmacy2U also consists of a private online doctor service with registered GPs and its sister company ChemistDirect.co.uk, which provides a range of over-the-counter medicines and general healthcare products.

The company’s repeat prescription service has seen its customers surge by 178 per cent over the last 12 months, with over 25,000 new patients registering in the last month alone.

“Pharmacy2U has enjoyed a phenomenal period of high growth and we’re delighted to have secured investment from healthcare specialist investor G Square and our existing backers BGF, which will help us continue to innovate and improve our service for our patients,” said CEO Mark Livingstone.

Pharmacy2U will use the £40m injection to invest further in technology to ensure its infrastructure keeps pace with customer demand and continues to bring much needed innovation to healthcare.

The firm’s state-of-the-art dispensing hub is already the biggest and most advanced in the UK, capable of dispensing one million prescription items each month.

The business will also continue to educate patients on how technology can help simplify and improve the way they manage their health & medication.

Livingstone added: “Technology has transformed industries from retail and entertainment to travel and leisure and it is now making a significant and much needed mark on healthcare.

“We are on a mission to help improve patient outcome in partnership with the NHS by managing repeat prescriptions from request to delivery.

“The service relieves both the time and stress put on GPs, represents better value to the NHS and improves patients’ medicine adherence.”

As part of the funding round, G Square operating partner Ted Smith will be joining Pharmacy2U’s board of directors as non-executive chairman.

Smith started his career as a pharmacist and spent over 20 years with Boots the Chemist. He was also a member of the council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

“I am very excited to be part of this fascinating journey which will impact positively on patient experience and help reduce the strain on the NHS,” he said.