Exclusive: Telemedicine Startup Truemeds To Raise $5Mn in Series A round The investment round to be led by InfoEdge Ventures, Asha Impact, and Indian Angel Network Fund

Mumbai-based telemedicine startup Truemeds is set to raise $5 million in its series A round. The investment round will be led by InfoEdge Ventures, Asha Impact and Indian Angel Network Fund.

In an interaction with Entrepreneur India, Akshat Nayyar, Co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Truemeds confirmed the development.
When asked about the utilization of the funds, Nayyar said the team will use the funds to expand their operations to three additional cities in different parts of India. He reasoned the move by saying that the company witnessed a strong organic pull from geographies that they were not able to serve well.

"We intend to expand to these additional locations to ensure consumers get the same level of service that our current target market is receiving," he added.

The startup will also invest in technology to further enhance the experience of chronic patients on the platform.

Founded by Nayaar and Dr. Kunal Wani in 2019, Truemeds is a telehealth platform that recommends alternate brands of medicine to chronic patients. The Mumbai-based startup provides free delivery of the suggested alternate brands to the patient's home.

Truemeds claims to save 47 per cent on its users' monthly medicine bills by using a proprietary recommendation engine and free consultation from its empaneled doctors. Both the founders who have been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years realized that the affordability of medicines is a growing challenge for the Indian middle class.

They discovered that in India over 250 million chronic patients need medicines every month and 95 per cent of the medicine spent is directly from the pocket. For an average Indian with chronic illnesses like diabetes or hypertension, medicine spend can be as high as 15 per cent to 20 per cent of their monthly income.

"As we grow older and move closer to retirement, our income either reduces to just pension or worse we have to rely on past savings. But at the same time, our need for medicines keeps rising. During our time in the pharmaceutical industry, we learned that over 50 per cent of chronic patients do not complete their prescribed dose of the medicines with the primary reason cited as cost," Nayyar explained.

The startup helps patients find quality medicines manufactured by the top 1 per cent companies in India at reasonable prices.

Since its inception, the startup has saved over INR 7 crore in medical expenses for its customers. A customer bill worth INR 2,100 per month can save close to INR 990 per month. Truemeds services close to 50,000 patients monthly spread and provide access to affordable medicines to over 16,000 pin codes in India.

Since their seed round last year, the startup has grown 2200 per cent in terms of revenue and expects to grow at 600 per cent to 800 per cent in the next year.

The ongoing pandemic has provided a strong tailwind for doorstep delivery services including medicines. Truemeds saw organic growth despite few initial supply chain constraints as people continued to order medicines at the comfort of their homes.