- Thuocsi.vn connects over 7,000 healthcare providers with verified suppliers to transform the current inefficient distribution system.
- Provides a low-contact solution for distribution to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Company has seen massive growth over the last 60 days as Vietnamese pharmacies have started sourcing from online distribution channels.
VIETNAM, HO CHI MINH CITY – April 27, 2020 — BuyMed, the Vietnamese startup behind award-winning, pharma distribution marketplace thuocsi.vn, announced today a US$2.5m pre-Series A financing round led by Sequoia Capital India‘s rapid scale programme, Surge, and Genesia Ventures with participation from its existing investor, Cocoon Capital. BuyMed joins the Surge 03 cohort as the only Vietnamese company. This round follows BuyMed’s seed funding, which was led by Cocoon Capital.
The funds will be used to support the company’s rapid growth across both Vietnam as well as the rest of Southeast Asia, helping them streamline a US$65bn pharmaceutical market plagued by grey market channels, substandard safety and complicated distribution channels.
Having achieved 250% growth in only six months, thuocsi.vn now serves over 7,000 pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals across the country. The platform has also expanded its network of suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers to more than 700 partners, ensuring availability of a wide range of products that are all verified and safe to use.
“Currently, 80% of pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals in Vietnam rely on informal sales representatives to order products. Logging in to thuocsi.vn provides a reliable, safe, and efficient solution to evaluate and order products online, empowering small healthcare businesses to become more resilient”, said Peter Nguyen, CEO and Co-Founder of BuyMed.
BuyMed has continued to support its clients and partners during the COVID-19 downturn by expanding operations and helping partners diversify their sales and distribution channels on the platform. In the past three months the platform has seen a strong increase in demand for products by pharmacies and clinics.
“While many distributors and wholesalers are unable to maintain operations during this lockdown, BuyMed remains committed to serving the healthcare industry in Vietnam. We understand the importance of our services to the underserved healthcare sector and we are taking additional measures to ensure the safety and business continuity of our products and deliveries. The health and well-being of our team, delivery drivers, and clients are our primary concern”, added Mr. Nguyen.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, BuyMed has implemented added measures to keep its team and customers safe. This includes a strict screening process for employees and delivery drivers including hand sanitisation upon entry, twice-daily temperature checks, enforcing the use of facemasks, and implementing social distancing measures. In addition, BuyMed’s warehouse and office are sanitised three times a day to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The company has also implemented a no-contact drop-off and cash collection system to reduce exposure.
In the last 12 months, BuyMed tripled its annual revenue accompanied by a 13 times increase in monthly orders. To accelerate this growth even further, the fresh funds will be used to hire new talent in mobile development, supply chain, and fulfillment, as well as to expand the team into Hanoi to establish thuocsi.vn as a national distribution platform.
BuyMed also aims to add new product lines including cosmetics, medical devices, supplements, and medical services to become a one-stop marketplace for healthcare practices both in Vietnam and across the region.
“There is still a tremendous opportunity for growth and improvement in Vietnam’s pharmaceutical supply chain and we believe that BuyMed’s founders have the experience, execution and operational management necessary to tackle this problem. We look forward to working with the team to achieve their mission of improving the healthcare and wellbeing for the people in Vietnam,” said Takahiro Suzuki, General Partner of Genesia Ventures