SwipeRX raises $10m to expand B2B commerce platform across Southeast Asia

SwipeRx’s plan to expand its Business (B2B) commerce platform for the pharmaceutical industry in key markets in Southeast Asia received a boost after it earned additional funding of $10 million from its Series B2 round.

This round saw the participation of marquee investors such as global pharma Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Cercano Management (formerly Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital) and existing investors Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Johnson & Johnson and Patamar Capital.

“From our inception, we have been obsessively focused on achieving our mission of improving the quality, availability and affordability of medicines across Southeast Asia. This new investment is a testament to our progress in achieving this mission while demonstrating rapid growth, strong economic fundamentals and market leadership. We look forward to accelerating our progress even further with this new injection of capital from these renowned investors,” said Farouk Meralli, Founder and CEO of SwipeRx.

SwipeRx, Southeast Asia’s leading platform for pharmacies, earlier raised $27 million in Series B that was held in May 2022 and was participated by Indonesia’s MDI Ventures together with other global investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, SIG and other existing investors.

In a statement, SwipeRx said it plans to expand its B2B commerce platform for the pharmaceutical industry in key markets. The firm will also use part of the proceeds from Series B2 to invest in specialised healthcare logistics and financing, further grow its pharmacy network in these key markets and strengthen its advanced data teams.

SwipeRx currently has more than 250,000 pharmacy professionals and 50,000 pharmacies on its digital network. The company provides its users across the region with the digital tools and information that they need to better serve patients and manage their pharmacies.

As the leading application for pharmacies in Southeast Asia that combines the largest digital community for pharmacy professionals with an all-in-one digital B2B commerce capability, SwipeRx works with leading pharmaceutical companies, governments and NGOs to connect the entire pharmaceutical ecosystem.

Indonesia now has over 12, 000 retail pharmacies. About a quarter of these are on SwipeRx with over 8,000 of them also on the B2B commerce platform.

Just recently, SwipeRx also launched a new point of sale (POS) and inventory management system which has grown rapidly now counting more than 1,000 pharmacies in the country on its platform.

MJ Yu, Managing Director of Cercano, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated and amplified digital healthcare adoption in the region.

Jon Fairest, Head of the Sanofi Global Health Units, said that they recognize the importance of investing in local entrepreneurial businesses that strengthen and support sustainable healthcare delivery and improve outcomes.

SwipeRx, he adds, has proven its ability to drive impact by empowering even the most remote pharmacies to improve the care delivered to patients.