Echo, a healthtech start-up which allows NHS patients to order repeat prescriptions through their smartphones, has secured £7m in venture capital funding.

The London-based start-up was founded by Sai Lakshmi and Stephen Bourke, who both had to ‘contend with complicated NHS repeat prescriptions’ for most of their lives, to take the hassle out of the process and tackle the inefficiencies in the system.

Echo works with 90 per cent of NHS England GP surgeries and allows people to order repeat prescriptions and get their medication delivered to them for free through its app, which is available on iOS, Android and through the official NHS app store.

The app also has smart reminders to alert patients when to take their medication and when they are running low.

“As someone who uses inhalers to manage my asthma, Echo has simplified a confusing and fragmented monthly chore,” Lakshmi said.

The Series A round was led by White Star Capital with participation from MMC Ventures, LocalGlobe, Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet and Public.io. It follows a £1.8m seed round in 2016.

Lakshmi says the funds will be used to invest in further research and development, grow the company’s engineering team and scale the business.

He added: “White Star Capital brings decades of experience to scaling digital businesses and we’re excited to work with them on Echo’s next stage of growth. Our relentless focus on user experience has created a service that improves our quality of life while saving money for a cash-strapped NHS.”

Echo closed a £1.6m seed funding round in 2016.